Dances with Shadows
by OhHeyJackTheRipper
Summary: Emily Ishihara is the adopted daughter of a Japanese Ghoul and an American human. After the death of her parents, she continues to run a neutral Ghoul safe house in the 20th Ward until a fateful night leaves her with a troublesome house guest and juggling both her normal human life and her secret life within the Ghoul world. Rated M for obvious reasons.
1. Chapter 1

May 3rd, 8:52pm.

Emily Ishihara was walking alone down the quiet well lit street on her way home from the book store where she worked. There was a book signing event that had lasted longer than they had anticipated resulting in the store being open later than normal. She sighed and re-adjusted her satchel on her shoulder. A lone car passed her, it's head lights momentarily blinding her as she walked but she knew the driver would be giving her a strange look. After all, it was rare for humans to be out at night by themselves. It made them easy prey for Ghouls - the carnivorous monsters than roamed the streets. Ghouls looked like humans, dressed like humans and spoke like them - they were so good at hiding themselves that your co-worker or best friend could be a Ghoul and you'd never know. However there were three things aside from their diets that set them apart; they had unbelievable regeneration abilities, they had strange powers called Kagune and their Kakugan - their eyes will change from normal to a bright red pupil and black sclera. But the fear of being attacked and eaten by a Ghoul didn't scare Emily, she'd walked this route for years and had not once seen a Ghoul hunting.

...Until now. She stopped and frowned at the several small red splotches on the ground leading from the dark alley way. Peering down cautiously, she strained her eyes to see anything but it was useless. Suddenly another car drove past and illuminated the alley. There, slouched amongst overturned bins and rubbish bags was what looked to be a person who'd just been attacked. Compassion outweighed caution and Emily was soon half jogging down the narrow gap between building to the being. A lone street light flickered on and off nearby giving her some form of light every now and then. As she neared the person she discovered it was a boy not much older than her, his clothes were ripped, his blue hair was messy and matted with blood, blood that seemed to be everywhere else on him too. Emily knelt before him and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him back against the wall,

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked him. The boy moaned once and then his eyes fluttered open. It happened fast, a flash of red as he lunged for her. Emily fell back under the force and landed on her butt, her heart racing from the action. She had expected to feel some kind of pain in her shoulder or arm - anywhere, but there was none. Instead the boy who had tried to attack her had collapsed, his head resting on her chest. She could feel him breathing so he was still alive. Quickly she glanced around, she had to make sure no one saw this or else this boy's life would really end. Gently, she pushed him back once again and, using all her strength, slung his arm around her shoulders and held him securely around the waist. She dragged the unconscious Ghoul the rest of the three blocks to her apartment.

Unlocking the door was difficult when carrying someone's entire weight, but Emily managed to do it. Kicking the door open with her foot, she dragged the boy over to her couch before dropping him onto it and taking his shoes off. After placing both his and hers by the door she went to her linen cupboard, took out a spare pillow and blanket then went back to the couch where she lifted his long legs up off the ground, placed the pillow under his head and the blanket over him. Once she'd made sure he was comfortable, she dialed the one phone number her parents had made her memorize.

"Hello?" the raspy voice on the other end asked cheerily after the third ring.

"It's Blue Lotus." she said in a low, serious tone, "I need a shipment."

"How many?" the voice replied also becoming serious.

"Just one, but I need it now." she answered. She could hear the voice giving muffled orders before replying to her, "We'll be ready for you." Without saying goodbye she hung up, slid on her shoes and made her way back into the deadly night.

The impossibly tall, long coat wearing man was waiting for her outside the back entrance to the cafe. He nodded a greeting to her before leading her to the secret entrance that led to the basement where the old man was waiting for her.

"Ah, Emily-chan, it's nice to see you again." he greeted her warmly. Emily smiled at the elderly Ghoul,

"Yoshimura-san." she said taking his offered hand and shaking it, "I only wish it was under better circumstances."

"So do I, child. You weren't hurt in the process were you?" he asked giving her a quick once over with his eyes. Emily shook her head, her deep burgundy hair falling into her eyes,

"No, this all belongs to him."

"Yes, I can smell it." Yoshimura said cryptically, "Be careful with this one, Emily."

"Do you know him?" she asked curiously, Yoshimura shook his head

"It's just a feeling. Here," he handed her a small cooler bag, "come back if you need more. You remember how to store it?"

"I do, and I will. Thank you." she said with a small bow.

"No, child, thank you." With that Yomo, the tall coat wearing man who had led her in, led her out and back to the surface. Waving once to him, she quickly made her way back to her apartment and the unconscious boy there.

May 4th, 7:36am

Emily woke before her alarm for the sixth time that week but it wasn't because she had to work. There was a person on her couch who needed help and she needed to be ready for when he woke up. Quickly slipping on shorts and socks, she quietly made her way into the big open room that served as both her lounge room, dining room and kitchen. Sure enough the boy hadn't moved from where she'd put him and the food package she'd placed on the table for him was unwrapped. Leaning on the back of the couch she peered over to have a better look at him. His facial wounds were healing slowly as a result of not eating, but where they had been open wounds before they were now only scratches and she could see what he looked like. He was handsome with fine features hidden behind his messy hair, a piercing in his ear and looked similar to someone she knew. He moaned again and rolled onto his back, his eyes fluttering open again. Time seemed to freeze as both of them just stared at each other, blinking and not moving. His nose twitched as he caught the scent of food and he shot up from the couch, snatching the package on the table and ripping it open. Emily took a step back from the couch, knowing better to get between a Ghoul and his meal, then with one more look at him, retreated into the kitchen to make some coffee for both him and herself. She'd only just started boiling the kettle and had turned around to get the coffee from her pantry when he cornered her against the bench, arms either side of her blocking any chance of escape.

"Who are you?" he demanded, red eyes glaring down at her. He wasn't strong enough to produce his Kagune but his physical advantage over her was really all he needed.

"Ishihara Emily." she said calmly, she had expected this kind of thing, "You're in my apartment, it's safe. The CCG doesn't come around here. You don't have to tell me your name." The boy leaned down and sneered at her menacingly,

"You're a human," he growled "How the hell do you know about Anteiku?!" Emily sighed and ducked under his arm, surprisingly he didn't stop her. Yoshimura had lied to her; he did know this boy. But she wasn't mad, she figured he had his reasons. Opening the pantry, she took out the coffee and set about making two mugs.

"I've known them since I was little. My father used to work there from time to time." she replied.

"Yoshimura doesn't let humans work there." the boy said matter-of-factly. Emily chuckled quietly as she poured the hot water into the mugs and stirred,

"My father wasn't human. He was a Ghoul, like you. He and my mother, a human, fell in love."

The boy frowned trying to understand what she'd just told him, "Then...Then shouldn't you be half Ghoul or something?" Emily shook her head and smiled,

"I'm adopted. Humans and Ghouls can't reproduce." she said. The boy went to take a step but he wasn't strong enough and his legs buckled. He grabbed the side of the bench to stop from falling onto the ground. Emily was immediately by his side trying to help him up but he swatted her away.

"Don't touch me!" he growled. Reluctantly she stepped back; he was one of _those_ types. The Ghouls who hated humans. So this is what Yoshimura meant when he'd told her to be careful. Ghouls who hated humans were dangerous, more so than normal Ghouls. Since humans were part of the Ghoul diet, most would just eat them. But no, not the ones who hated humankind. They would kill for fun as well. Despite knowing that, Emily didn't fear or despise this boy. In fact she sympathized with him. Not all humans were like her mother and not all humans grew up having a Ghoul as a parent. She didn't fear them, she didn't hate them. They ate humans, yes, but they had to to survive. But Ghouls were also hunted brutally by the CCG - the Commission of Counter Ghoul. Each species fought for the own survival, but that didn't make either of them right.

"You need to rest more." she told him as he pulled himself up.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he spat but nonetheless made his way back to the couch and flopped down, grunting with effort and pain. With another sigh, she opened her freezer and pulled out another brown package and put it in the microwave just long enough for it to defrost, set it on a plate and took it along with the coffee with the special sugar cube to the boy.

"Here." she said ignoring the heated glare, "I have to go out soon and I'm not sure when I'll be back. If you get hungry there's more food in the freezer for you, the coffee and the _sugar_ are in the pantry. There's a second bathroom down the hall and to the left if you feel like showering or whatever. You can wear some of my Dad's old clothes, they're in the cupboard in the hallway." Without waiting for a reply, Emily left the Ghoul boy alone with his coffee and food and went to have a shower and get ready. He was in the bathroom when she left her room, the door slightly ajar. Feeling curiosity clawing relentlessly at her, Emily risked a quick peek. The boy was shirtless in front of the mirror, checking out his wounds that were still healing. She decided to leave before he noticed her.

12:43pm

"Why are you looking at guy's stuff?"

Emily held up the white long sleeved shirt, although it was summer the fabric the shirt was made out of was light and airy. She didn't think white was his colour though. Perhaps they had a dark blue or black...

"Emily?" her friend called waving her hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, what?" Emily asked looking away from the clothes rack and at her friend.

"I asked why you're looking at guy's stuff. We're supposed to be shopping for us." Chloe was the daughter of an American CCG investigator stationed in Tokyo. She and Emily had met several years ago at school and since they were both the only two foreigners, they'd quickly formed a close friendship. But Chloe had never known the truth about Emily's father, if she did it wouldn't just be the end of their friendship.

"Oh, sorry. My cousin's birthday is coming up soon and I'm looking for something to get him." she lied. Chloe frowned and crossed her arms,

"You never mentioned anything about a cousin before." she said arching a blonde eyebrow. Pulling out a dark navy blue shirt similar to the white one she'd found, Emily replied,

"You never asked."

Chloe pursed her lips but eventually forgot her suspicions when she saw a summer dress that took he fancy. Emily let out a breath of relief and continued shopping for her temporary house guest. Once the girls were finished shopping and had paid for their things, they decided to get some ice cream.

"So, how're you and Toshio?" Chloe asked with a wink as she dug her spoon into her caramel ice cream. Hamada Toshio was Emily's boyfriend of two years. Like Chloe's father, Toshio's family were all in the CCG and he would be joining the Academy once he was old enough. But his outlook on Ghouls differed from his family's. He neither hated nor liked Ghouls, to him they just simply were. But he had to follow the family tradition whether he believed in the same ideals as them or not; Toshio did, however, possess a strong sense of justice which would either flourish or be destroyed in that line of work.

"We're fine. We have a date tomorrow evening actually, his father received a promotion so they're having a big celebratory feast." Emily replied.

"Oh, Mr. Hamada is doing so well these days. My dad talks about him and his sons all the time, but aren't they posted in the 23rd Ward?" Chloe asked curiously. Emily nodded,

"They got time off especially for this."

"Aw that's so lucky! Dad couldn't even get time off for my birthday last week." Chloe complained. Emily smiled sympathetically,

"He is posted in the 11th Ward, it's pretty hectic there at the moment." she said patting her friend's hand. Because she had ties within both the CCG and the Ghoul world, Emily was generally always up to date at what was happening in all the different Wards other than the 20th.

"I know." Chloe said resuming her cheerful constitution once again, "I'm just being a spoilt brat."

3:15pm

The boy was asleep on her couch again when Emily came home but he woke up as soon as the door closed. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he sat up and glared at her.

"I bought you some clothes." she said sliding her boots off and holding up the bag with his stuff in it, "I figured Dad's would be too big on you." The boy stood and went to the kitchen, sure enough the t-shirt he was wearing was too long and the pants hung loosely off his hips. Her father was like Yomo-san at Anteiku, tall and very muscular. This boy, although tall, was like a stick compared to her dad. She left the bag on the couch and went to her bedroom to figure out her outfit for dinner with Toshio's family. She had narrowed it down to three choices; a dark brown and red checkered dress with bows the colour of her hair on the straps and matching belt, a soft light blue sleeveless that fanned out at the waist and maroon v-necked dress with shoulder sleeves and carnelian trim.

"Pick the blue one."

Emily jumped at the voice and spun to see the boy leaning against her door frame, arms cross over his chest and wearing the clothes she'd bought him. "It matches your eyes and makes your hair stand out."

She blushed slightly and looked down at the floor, "Oh...um thanks..."

"Whatever." he replied airily and looked at nothing at the end of the hallway but Emily had the feeling it was his thank you for buying him clothes. After a few more seconds of silence while Emily put her clothes, aside from the blue dress, away, the boy spoke again, "Are you going out tonight?"

"Tomorrow night, but it'll only be for an hour or so." she replied, "Why, do you need more food?"

"No, I'm fine." he said quickly. Emily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. This morning he didn't want to be anywhere near her, now he seemed as though he wanted to talk to her but didn't know what to say. It was quickly becoming awkward between them as the silence stretched on, so she decided to take the initiative.

"Your wounds look better." she stated as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Huh? Oh...yeah...my face does anyway. The rest is taking longer to heal." he replied absently still staring at nothing in the hallway and making no attempt to move from her doorway.

"Can...Can I ask what happened?" she asked timidly. This wasn't the first time she'd taken in wounded Ghouls, some of them liked to talk and others didn't. Her apartment was known amongst some Ghouls as a safe house from when her father used to take in Ghouls on the run, injured or those having a hard time hunting. The code name Blue Lotus belonged to her father who's Kagune looked like an electric blue lotus flower, it had been passed onto her after his death.

The boy looked at her in surprise but it was quickly replaced by distrust; "Why? So you can report back to that old fool Yoshimura?"

"I don't report to Yoshimura. He supplies food when I need it but that's it. This place is a safe house for any Ghoul whether they're with Anteiku or not." she told him, "But if you don't want to tell me that's fine. You don't have to."

The boy laughed coldly, "You're one fucked up human. Freely offering shelter to a species that eat your kind. What would you do if one of them attacked you, huh?"

Emily smiled sadly at the floor, "I suppose I am pretty fucked up." was all she said before getting up and stepping around the boy into the hall. She sat on the balcony watching the people below go about their lives completely oblivious to the Ghoul safe house above them and thinking about her past. _What would you do if one of them attacked you, huh?_ She leant forward on her knees and sighed, wondering what had happened in his life for him to hold so much hate towards her kind. Perhaps the CCG happened? Most Ghouls who hated humans felt that way because of the CCG's brutality. Despite telling him he didn't have to share any of his information with her, she was curious about him.

Her phone rang waking her from her day dreaming. The caller I.D was Toshio.

"Hello?" she said.

"Emily, hey, it's Toshi. You're still coming to dinner tomorrow right?" he asked sounding frantic. Emily couldn't help but smile, Toshio hated it when his family were all together. All they would do was talk about all their achievements and pressure him into being as good as they are. Emily's presence kept him sane.

"Of course I am." she told him and giggled lightly when he sighed dramatically.

"Thank god. I know how much you hate things like that so I was scared you were going to back out at the last minute and leave me stranded."

"I'd never do that." she laughed, "I even bought a new dress especially for it and a gift for your father."

"Oh crap! I knew I forgot to do something today..." Toshio said becoming frantic again.

"Calm down, we can say it's from both of us." she told him shaking her head.

"This is why I need you, you're always thinking of the stuff I don't." she could hear his grin in his voice but then he became serious, "Hey, are you okay? Chloe said you didn't seem like yourself today."

"I'm fine. I just had a long night last night." she said truthfully, "The book signing went longer than we thought."

"So you're doing okay then?" he asked her again.

"I'm fine, Toshio." she told him, "Really."

"Shit, I have to go." he said suddenly, "Em, you know you can talk to me about anything right? It's okay to lean on someone once in a while."

"I know. Go before your mother throws something at you."

"Don't give her any ideas. I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven." Toshio said followed by the click of the call being disconnected. Emily stretched and fell back against her chair, she appreciated Toshio's concern but it really wasn't needed and it was misdirected.

A few months ago Yoshimura had asked her if she could take in a weak Ghoul for a few days until the CCG finished their sweep of his hunting grounds. Naturally she had agreed. At first he was soft spoken and very kind, humble even. He cleaned up after himself and never ate in her presence, however she soon started getting an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach that something wasn't right with him. One night, she'd woken suddenly from her sleep to find him standing over her watching her sleep. He'd claimed she was having a nightmare and he went to see if she was okay, but after certain other incidences it soon became apparent to her that he was obsessed and she feared that he would try to eat her. Once the CCG had finished their sweep, he went back to his own home and she thought she would never have to see him again. But when she was walking home with one of her co-workers, he'd approached her. Her co-worker, having sensed something wasn't right tried to get him to back off but ended up being tossed into a wall. She could still remember his psychotic grin as he stared at her. Yoshimura and Renji had moved the Ghoul to another Ward and Emily had since gotten over it, but Toshio and Chloe were still sure she was suffering from the traumatic event, even if they thought it was just a human stalker.

A loud crash from inside caught her attention and Emily quickly ran back inside to see what had happened. The boy was on the bathroom floor, clutching his abdomen as blood pooled on the white tiles. Without thinking, Emily was on her knees rolling him over into her lap. His handsome face was contorted in agony as he clutched his stomach and the wound that had reopened there.

"Get..." he rasped, opening his eyes and revealing his Kakugan, "...away." Emily ignored him and, grabbing the face towel from the basin above them, pressed it onto his wound, using pressure to stop the bleeding. The boy groaned in pain as he tried to swat her away unsuccessfully.

"Shut up and stop moving so much." she told him sternly as she dodged a weak punch aimed for her face. Suddenly he sat up, his teeth snapping right next to her ear. Emily didn't flinch, she wasn't sure whether he was just trying to scare her so she'd leave him alone or whether he was actually trying to eat her out of pain. Either way he needed to eat to be able to heal properly and if she didn't get him back to the lounge soon, she was going to be the meal. So she did the only thing she could, a trick she had learned from watching her mother interact with hurt Ghouls, and flicked his nose as hard as she could. The boy sneezed automatically and blinked at her completely bewildered.

"Stop being so damn stubborn and let me help you." she chastised. To her surprise, the boy complied reluctantly with her and she managed to help him to his feet and back to the couch. Once he was sitting, she made him a cup of coffee while hid food defrosted. He swallowed the coffee in two mouthfuls but it seemed to sate him until the microwave dinged. She put the plate containing two brown packages in front of him and left him to eat in private while she cleaned up the blood in the bathroom. This boy was quickly becoming troublesome, his mood swings were giving whiplash and it was only the second day he'd been there. Judging from the severity of his injuries, it was going to take him at least a week to heal enough to leave. A week with him seemed like an eternity but she had to do it. If not for him then for her parents who made this place their dream. Perhaps if she could change his attitude towards humans, maybe she could be one step closer to achieving what her parents could not.

The towel she'd been using to soak up the blood was drenched and dark red, the tiles were still streaked and she had blood on her hands, pants and under her nails. It still wasn't clean properly but it would have to do for now, the boy should have finished eating and she had to make sure he was okay. Bundling the soiled towels in her arms she headed back into the lounge room, glancing at him as she made her way to the washing machine at the far end of the room. He was lying on his back, the plate empty with only the brown wrapping scrunched in a ball on it. Well at least he'd eaten. Dumping the towels in the washing basket, she went over to check on him.

"Feel better?" she asked, keeping her distance from the boy. He shook his head, his eyes still closed as he held the cloth to his stomach, "Not really."

"I'm sorry..." Emily said softly, "I'm not very good at sewing. You'd probably end up looking like Frankenstein if I tried stitching you up..." Several seconds of silence passed before the boy started making a strange chocking noise. Emily looked up to see if he was okay only to find him making an expression like he was smiling and grimacing at the same time.

"Don't..." he coughed, "Don't make me laugh...it hurts..."

"I didn't know you could laugh." she replied replied not thinking. Quickly, she snatched the plate off the table and went to the kitchen. She shouldn't have said that, he was hurt and she was being mean.

"So, you do have a tough side." she heard him say as she rinsed the plate before putting it in the dishwasher. Emily didn't reply as she walked back to her room but she heard him say when she passed him, "My name's Ayato."


	2. Chapter 2

May 5th, 6:58pm

"Ayato, I'm leaving now." Emily told him as she slipped on her knee high boots, "I'll pick up some more food on my way home."

"Whatever." she heard him call from the bathroom. After a night's rest and finishing off the rest of the food supply she had for him, the Ghoul boy she'd taken in had recovered some of his lost strength. It wasn't enough to fight off another Ghoul or Doves but it did give him enough energy to finish cleaning the mess he made in the bathroom. Emily rolled her eyes at his reply and left her apartment, locking the door behind her. Down below Toshio was waiting for her, a taxi hummed nosily behind him. He looked even more handsome than normal with his shoulder length dark hair slicked back so only a few strands were left loose on his forehead, and a cloud grey suit that matched her dress surprisingly well.

Toshio, like her, lived by himself near their high school. His father, mother and older brothers all worked at the CCG but only his mother stayed in the 20th Ward. Even when she was home she was never _there_, always focused on her work and getting called in at random hours. Toshio had been left to raise himself, so for that reason he'd moved out of home several months ago and got a place closer to school.

"You look great." he said commenting on her light blue sleeveless dress, she gave a small twirl for him.

"Thanks." she replied and made a mental note to get Ayato something extra on her way home. The drive to the restaurant didn't take very long, and soon Emily was being pulled into a loving hug courtesy of Toshio's mother.

"Emily-chan, you look so lovely tonight!" she swooned making the girl turn in a circle for her, "Oh how I wished I had a daughter like you." Emily laughed awkwardly in response and looked to Toshio for help. Ever since Toshio had first introduced Emily to his family, his mother had been saying things like that. She was thankful his family were so warm and welcoming towards her, however if they ever found out the truth about her secret life or her father she knew all that would stop in a heart beat. Still she kept up her charade for Toshio's sake.

"You're too kind Mrs. Hamada." she said bowing her head, "Have you been well?"

"Oh you know, as well as I can be with such a busy job. Tsk, Toshi, you couldn't make more of an effort on your hair? It's getting so long now, you should get it cut." she said abruptly thankfully turning her attention to her son.

"I like it this length though." he complained as he attempted to swat her hand away from the few stray strands of hair. Emily hid her smile behind her hand; one thing about Toshio she loved was his hair. Although she would have liked it if it was a little messier..._Kind of like..._She shook her head as Ayato's face came into her mind, glaring coldly at her and trying to eat her.

"You okay?" Toshio asked quietly taking her by the arm gently. Emily nodded and was about to reply when Mrs. Hamada made a loud cooing noise signalling the arrival of her eldest sons, Akihiro and Isao. All three Hamada boys looked similar, each had tall builds, dark hair and dark eyes. But where Toshio was slender, Akihiro and Isao were muscular and strong from years of physical training and working out. Akihiro, the eldest at 24, resembled his mother while four years his junior, Isao, resembled his father. Toshio had the same amount of looks from each parent.

"Hey little sis, you made it." Akihiro greeted her as he swooped her up into a bear hug. Akihiro looked stern and serious but he was kind and laughed a lot. He'd been the first one to fully accept her despite being foreign.

"Of course I did." Emily replied as he put her back on the ground, "I missed you guys too."

"Toshi, you'd better step up your game with this one." Isao commented as their elder brother moved from from Emily to their mother. Toshio arched an eyebrow,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if you don't, I might have to steal her away from you." Isao clarified sending a joking wink towards Emily. She laughed at his banter; Isao was the 'good looking' son with a strong jawline, sharp features and piercing eyes, and now he had well manicured stubble gracing his chin, he was quite the head turner and he knew it. But all his flirting was only jokes when it came to Emily.

"You wish." Toshio replied elbowing his brother in the arm. After a few more minutes of chatting and Mrs. Hamada picking on her sons appearances and lack of girlfriends (Toshio aside), a black sedan pulled up beside them and out stepped and middle aged, tall man who cut an imposing figure in his black suit and tie.

"Sorry I'm late." he said closing the door, "Traffic tonight was impossible. Were you waiting long?" Hamada Masanori was as tall as his sons and just as strong. He looked quite intimidating with his sharp eyes and short, neat hair.

"Not at all, dear." Mrs. Hamada said as she and her husband embraced. After greeting the rest of the family and Emily, the group made their way inside where they were immediately escorted to a table in the middle of the room.

The night went well, toasts to success were often, the food was amazing and the conversation was rarely boring until the inevitable. Ghoul talk. Emily shifted in her seat as Mr. Hamada brought up the situation in the 11th Ward.

"...Give it a few more years and there'll be a war. I guarantee it." he finished.

"Why doesn't the CCG do something to stop it from coming to that?" Toshio asked curiously.

"They're trying. But Ghouls have gotten good at hiding themselves these days. It's getting harder to find them, and it's not like we can just go around and take everyone's Rc levels. We do what we can with those we find." Isao replied casually.

"Personally I don't even know why Cochlea even exists. We should just exterminate them on the spot." Mrs. Hamada said darkly. Emily knew she had a personal reason for hating Ghouls as much as she did, but she didn't know what it was. Toshio hadn't told her and she thought it was rude to ask.

"There's a lot we can still learn from them." Akihiro told her, "Each Ghoul is different, actually it's pretty amazing."

"Emily," Mr. Hamada said, his sharp gaze on her from across the table, "You're always quiet when it comes to Ghouls. I'm curious to know your opinion on them." Emily paled at suddenly being put on the spot; she couldn't tell them her true feelings about Ghouls nor could she lie. Just thinking about what they would do to those at Anteiku or Ayato back at her apartment made her sick if she didn't.. So, swallowing the lump in her throat, she did her best to lie and tell the truth.

"Well, I've never met a Ghoul before so I can't really say for certain." she said glancing at each of them nervously and trying to not to think about the fact that she was eating dinner with a family of Ghoul hunters, "But from what I've seen and heard from the news and stories Toshio has told me, I know that they're not something easily reasoned with. I think Cochlea is necessary to maintaining the upper hand against them." The Hamada family were silent and Emily wondered whether she had said the wrong thing, but her fears were put to rest when Isao chuckled.

"Beautiful, kind and has a mind for strategy - what on earth are you doing with my idiot brother?"

After that the rest of the night was in good spirits and everyone left the subject of Ghouls alone. Though Emily felt wretched for what she'd said, even if it was to protect herself and those she knew.

8:49pm

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Toshio asked her as he held the taxi door open for her. Emily nodded,

"I'll be fine. Spend some time with your family now that they've had several glasses of champagne."

Toshio snorted and ran a hand through his hair, the gel he'd used was starting to loosen, allowing some of his hair to fall into its normal style, "Yeah right. I swear if they insist on going to karaoke afterwards, I'm getting an emancipation."

"You love karaoke though." Emily teased earning an eye-roll from her boyfriend, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Sure will." he said pulling her into another hug and kissing her forehead, "Seriously, thank you for coming tonight and for putting up with my annoying family."

"Compared to you, they're not that bad." she teased giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before escaping into the taxi. Toshio clutched his heart dramatically,

"You wound me!" he said, "Good night." Emily waved as the taxi drove off towards her house. Only when they were far enough away did she tell him turn around and go towards Anteiku. She stopped the taxi a block from the cafe, paid the fare and told him not to wait for her. The taxi driver gave her a concerned look, but did as he was told. As usual, Yomo Renji was waiting for her outside the cafe.

"Night out?" he asked her motioning to her unnatural attire.

"Date with the boyfriend's family." she replied easily.

"Still dating the CCG boy?" he asked, Emily didn't reply and she didn't need to. Yoshimura and Renji had known about her relationship with Toshio since it started, they kept a close eye on him and his family for obvious reasons. But so far the CCG hadn't bothered Anteiku.

Yoshimura was waiting for them both in the basement, this time with two coolers for her.

"I have to say I was surprised to get your phone call yesterday." he said after their usual pleasant greeting, "How bad is he?"

"He was so weak when I found him that he couldn't even find the strength to attack me before passing out." she replied, "I don't know what happened or who did it, but it's taking him much longer to heal than it should. How long has it been since he left Anteiku?"

Yoshimura looked shocked for a moment, surprised that Emily would know Ayato had been with them and had decided to leave, but he soon returned to his normal self.

"Not long after the last CCG sweep. His hatred for your kind was too deep and he decided to go off on his own. That was the last we had heard of him until you called. Has he told you anything?"

"Only his name and that I'm an idiot human." she replied with a shrug, "He doesn't have to tell me anything. It's how Blue Lotus runs; I stay out of the affairs of Ghouls, they don't eat me."

Renji chuckled quietly behind them at her joke. Honestly, the was no such arrangement with her and the Ghouls she helped. They could break into her house and kill her whenever they wanted. But they didn't. No one ever did. Even those who hated humans. Her father's family had been running the Blue Lotus for years, it was known amongst almost all Ghouls to be a safe house, however you could only find it if you or someone you knew had been there. The only thing Emily got out of the arrangement was the hope that one day Ghouls and humans could live side by side with each other.

"I should be going. My guest is probably starving by now." she said picking up the two coolers only to have one taken from her by Renji.

"I'll take you." he said, "It's dangerous tonight." Nodding once, she said goodbye to the old Ghoul and followed Renji out to his car.

"You're walking a dangerous road." he told her once they were driving. Emily stared out of the window; she knew he was referring to her involvement with Toshio and his family and running the safe house on her own.

"I know." she replied, "He'll be going to the Academy soon..."

"I'm not talking about the CCG boy." Renji said, "Running Blue Lotus on your own without some kind of muscle...you could get killed. How many times has Ayato attacked you? It's more than once, isn't it?"

"I'll be fine. He hasn't bitten me."

"What will you do when he gets his strength back and attacks you again?" Renji asked almost repeating the same thing Ayato had asked her the other day. She didn't reply. It's true that some Ghouls, Ayato among them, had tried to eat her more than once, and it was true that she would be easily over powered. But this was her life, if she didn't do it there would be no one and Blue Lotus would no longer exist.

"At least let me or Uta drop by every once in a while to check up on you?" he said stopping the car a few buildings down from her house. Emily sighed, she had known Renji and Uta ever since she was small. Her father had taken them in at separate times usually after fighting each other. They were almost like older brothers to her.

"Renji..." she said resting a hand on his thick muscled forearm, "I'll be fine. Really." The big man sighed deeply and allowed her to leave. It was touching how he cared so much for her well being, and she was thankful, but she couldn't risk drawing attention. She was lucky her apartment complex was half empty, half filled with the elderly and collage students. No one paid her any attention, but if she had two people like Renji and Uta turning up at her doorstep on a regular basis it was sure to draw unwanted gazes.

"I'm home." she said stepping through the door and closing it behind her. Ayato was stretched out on the couch watching television, a bored expression on his face. Slipping off her boots, she dug out a package from one of the coolers and tossed it at him, "Here."

"Thanks." he replied, eyes still glued to the screen as he opened the brown wrapping. Not wanting to watch him, Emily went to the kitchen to put the rest of the food into the freezer. However the news report caught her attention; the media had managed to film the capture of an S-ranked Ghoul. The camera panned left and caught the faces of three CCG Investigators - Chloe's father amongst them. Emily closed her eyes and went back to what she was doing knowing that one day she was going to have to choose between her friends and her family's legacy.

"How'd your date go?" Ayato asked switching the TV over to another channel. Emily was shocked; he was actually trying to make small talk with her.

"What makes you think I went on a date?" she asked feeling slightly unsure about whether she wanted him to about her life, kicking the empty cooler to the side and sliding the full one over with her foot. She glanced towards the lounge and saw Ayato stretch and stand up, no longer interested in the Mech anime show that was on.

"Please, I'm a Ghoul. I can smell another scent on you from here." he said leaning on the back of the couch casually and folding his arms, "Cologne, an expensive one which not only tells me it was a guy but that he's loaded."

"I'm not sure whether that's creepy or cool..." Emily said as she finished stacking the last of Ayato's food and closed the freezer door, "How was your night?"

"Answer my question first." he insisted coldly. Emily rolled her eyes, man was he demanding.

"It was fine." she said superciliously, "Do you want me to describe the food I ate too?" Ayato half smirked in response, seeming to like it when Emily got angry,

"My night was quite and boring. But what do you expect being locked in this place." he said moving back to his original position. Emily's anger spiked,

"No one's forcing you to stay here." she snapped, her hands on her hips, "By all means, leave and go back to whatever it was you were doing _before_ I found you bleeding to death in an alley!" She didn't bother waiting for a reply and stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She wanted to go back out there and punch him in his smug face, he'd just ruined a relatively good night. What pissed her off more though was that he could easily get a rise out of her just like that. She generally never got angry, but this guy...

She groaned as she slid off her dress and collapsed on her bed, picking up the framed photograph of her parents from her bedside table as she went. "This guy..." she said gazing at her father's smiling face, "He's the kind you warned me about.

May 6th, 5:55am

Emily was already awake and staring at the pale blue ceiling when her alarm alerted her that it was time to wake up and get ready for school. She had had an uneasy sleep, tossing and turning, and when she had finally managed to fall asleep she'd had a horrible nightmare about her parents. After that, she just couldn't get to sleep.

Rolling over to slap her alarm off, Emily sat up and swung her feet onto the warm floor and mentally prepared herself to face _him_. Her troublesome house guest who seemed to have little to no manners, Ayato: the angry Ghoul boy. He was still asleep when she finally ventured out fifteen minutes later, after her shower, but woke up when she started preparing a quick breakfast. Ayato stood, his messy hair even messier and eyes half closed, wearing nothing but a pair of her father's old sweat pants, and made his way over to the kitchen to make coffee.

"Morning." he muttered, his voice low and gravely from sleep. Emily stared at him in bewilderment - how could this guy just be so nonchalant about being half naked in front of her, and look so good doing it?! His midnight blue eyes slid to her face,

"What?" he asked. Emily shook her head, her burgundy hair spilling over her shoulders, "Nothing, I was just looking at your wounds."

"Oh." was all he said as he poured the boiling water into his mug. Emily, feeling the burn of embarrassment upon her cheeks, quickly finished making her breakfast and retreated out onto the balcony to gather her thoughts and get away from Ayato. How could she have just stared openly at him like that? He wasn't unattractive by any means, but that didn't mean she should think that. He hated humans! He was a jerk! _She_ had a very normal, very nice and exceptionally _human_ _boyfriend_! She shouldn't be ogling other men, especially ones she knew barely anything about and could possibly kill her in her sleep and eat her.

"Hey." his voice made her jump in fright, spilling half her breakfast onto the ground, "Shit, sorry. I'll clean it up." Ayato knelt down and began picking up the dropped pieces of fruit.

"No, it's okay. Just leave it." she told him desperately waving her hands in an attempt to get him to stop trying to pick up the food. She could just sweep it off the balcony, easy fix.

"You sure?" he asked looking up at her curiously. Emily frowned at him; he was being overly nice this morning and it was weird.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him bluntly, no use sugar coating it. Something was up and she knew it. Ayato stood, wiped his hands on his pants and then ran a hand through his shaggy hair,

"Um...well...about what I said last night..." he said fumbling for the right words, "I didn't mean it..."

Emily was shocked, stunned - flabbergasted even. Ayato, "I Hate Humans" Ayato, was trying to apologize to her.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked before she could stop herself. Ayato's brows furrowed and he looked angry again,

"Seriously? I'm trying to make an effort to be nice to you since you're letting me stay here..." he trailed off having realized that Emily had been joking and he'd just spilled more than he had initially wanted to. Emily chuckled quietly behind her hand and stepped around him,

"It's okay, Ayato. You don't have to force yourself to be overly nice to me; actually it's a little uncomfortable. I'd rather you stay the way you are, being nice doesn't suit you." she told him while washing her plate, "By the look of it, you should be ready to leave next week so it'd be better if we didn't try to be friends anyway."

The navy haired boy shrugged, "If that's how you want it, whatever. I'm going for a shower." Emily watched him stalk down the hallway towards the bathroom, wondering if what she had decided last night was really what she wanted. Ever since he'd woken up, she had been intrigued by him. Ayato wasn't like any other human hating Ghoul she'd met before. Not only did they not talk to her but they didn't even acknowledge her existence. After her parents had died, only a few of them had tried to attack her. It'd been pure chance and a little bit of luck that she'd even managed to stay alive this long, but he was different. Why? And why did she feel unhappy telling him that there was no friendship in their future? Could...Could she be...

No! Absolutely not. She certainly was not developing a crush on Ayato. She'd only known him four days AND she was in a relationship with Toshio. No, she had just been spending too much time with the Ghoul. That was all.

Time...Emily glanced at the clock on the microwave. She was going to be late for school if she didn't leave!

6:00pm

The apartment was quiet when Emily arrived home from school sparking concern. The TV was off, no lights were on and the couch was empty. Had Ayato left? Slipping off her shoes, Emily, who was trying not to let her emotions get the better of her, crept down the hallway quietly and peered into the bathroom. It was empty. He was gone. Ayato had gone without so much as a goodbye note. She should have been happy he'd left, he was rude, arrogant and more trouble than he was worth. But still, she was sad. She couldn't explain it.

Taking a deep breath she decided to repack all the food in her freezer and take it to Anteiku - Yoshimura would have more use for it than she would. Also having human meat in her freezer wouldn't end well for anyone if the CCG suddenly wanted to check out her place. She didn't feel the coldness of the freezing air when she opened the door, the brown packages didn't sting her fingers as she dug them out. It was strange not to feel anything, but she'd known this numbness for five years. It was nothing to her now.

A fly buzzed around her face and landed on one of the packages on the bench. Frowning she stared at it for a moment, she had been certain she'd closed the door to the balcony before she'd left this morning. Closing the freezer door, she went to check her suspicions. Sure enough the glass door had been slid open letting the dying light (and fly) creep into the apartment.

"Odd..." she said quietly to herself closing the door but as she turned to go back to the kitchen she noticed something that wasn't there before and her heart lept into her throat. A shadowy silhouette of a person was stretched across the balcony floor. Opening the door again, she leaned out afraid of what she might find. There, with his long legs up on the banister, in the same outfit he had been wearing that morning, was Ayato fast asleep. Relief and joy smothered any other emotion Emily had been feeling when she saw his peaceful face. He hadn't left!

A soft wind tugged gently at his messy hair, pulling more of it into his face and giving Emily a strange itch in her fingers - an itch to brush the navy locks out of his face. She shook her head and looked away from the sleeping Ghoul; what was wrong with her? She had to get herself in check now before things became ridiculously complicated.

_What's wrong with just moving his hair?_ Her subconscious smiled innocently. Nothing was wrong with moving his hair, but it was the itch that worried her. She feared it would only get worse if she gave into it. As her internal debate on whether she should touch his hair or just leave him alone completely raged on, Ayato moaned softly and rolled onto his side more, his hair completely covering his face like a navy blue mask. That made up her mind.

Walking as quietly as she could over to him, Emily crouched down and hesitantly reached out her fingers. All kinds of thoughts ran through her head; what if she woke him? What would she say when he asks what she was doing? Why is she doing this anyway? But as the tips of her fingers brushed against the soft, thick strands of hair, her mind became silent. She hadn't expected his hair to be so soft, he didn't seem like the kind to worry about trivial things like that. Ayato moaned again as her fingers brushed his back and moved his entire body towards her hand, almost as if he was craving the touch. Emily froze as she felt the smooth skin of his cheek, warmed from the sunlight. After a tense few seconds, she slowly tried to pull her hand away but he stopped her.

"Don't..." he said quietly, "Just stay like this for a moment longer." Emily's heart pounded so loudly in her chest she was certain the entire collective of Ghouls in the 20th Ward could hear it, but it was out of fear. Fear of not knowing whether Ayato was awake or asleep and not knowing which was worse out of the two.

7:23pm

Emily had managed to sneak away a few seconds after the ordeal with sleepy Ayato and retreated into her room until the dire need to eat something got the better of her. Peeking out of the slightly ajar door, she checked the hallway for signs of Ghoulish activity. They were clear. Perhaps he was still asleep outside...

"Oi," he said making her jump as she crept past the couch, "When did you get back? I didn't hear you."

Emily calmed herself as best she could before replying, "Not long ago." she lied, "I've got a lot of studying to do so I'm just going to make something to eat and leave you alone."

"Oh...cool." he said but continued to hover on the edge of the kitchen. Emily got the feeling there was more he wanted to say so, keeping her back to him as she prepared some dinner for herself, she bit the bullet;

"Is there something else?" she asked him trying to keep her voice as normal as possible.

"Actually, yeah there is." he said immediately, "This morning, after you left-"

"Is this about what I said?" she asked interrupting him, "Because if it is I want you to know that it's not because I don't like you...I do like you...I just don't like being on too familiar terms with people who stay here, especially since I'm on my own now..." Emily trailed off realizing that she was just rambling her messy thoughts and if she didn't stop she would probably end up telling him about what happened when she got home and her completely ridiculous growing affection towards him. But when he didn't respond, she became worried and turned around.

Ayato was staring at her with a perplexed expression. Emily felt like an idiot as heat rose to her cheeks; he hadn't been referring to their conversation...

"You..." he said softly trying to find his words, "You said _people_..."

"I did?"

Ayato shook his head, pulling himself out of his daze, "Whatever. Some dude called."

"Oh..." she said turning a deep crimson from embarrassment, "Wait...Did he leave a name?"

"Nope. Didn't even leave a message." Ayato replied casually, "I only knew it was a guy from his low breathing." Emily was confused, no one knew her house phone except Chloe and Toshio. Toshio wouldn't have rung her that early in the morning anyway, at least not on the house phone.

"It was probably just a prank." she said shrugging and deciding not to think any further on it. She'd had a few prank calls before, young kids dialling random numbers for fun, so it wasn't completely unheard of.

"By the way," Ayato said catching her attention again, Emily faced him once more, abandoning her food preparation. He was smirking at her, arms crossed as he leaned against the corner of the counter, "Do you really like me?"

10.57pm

Ayato lay on his back, his arm on his forehead and stared at the cream ceiling wondering what was going on inside his head. This girl, this _human_, Ishihara Emily was corrupting his mind, making him soft. Why did she have to be the one to find him? Why couldn't she have just left him there to die; he would have been happier dead than having to deal with all these confusing conflicting emotions. Why couldn't he just eat her?!

Groaning in annoyance, he rolled onto his side and stared at the dark television screen. Emily had been in her room for hours avoiding him, of course it was his fault she was doing that. He'd stepped way out of his comfort zone in an effort to be nice to her after making her angry, a sight he wished he could see more often, and then teased her when she'd said she liked him... She liked him. But did she like him in the possible friendship kind of way or was it more than that? The colours she'd turned when he'd asked her were delicious, all that blood rushing to her cheeks and then draining, leaving her as pale as snow...

Giving another groan he sat up on the couch, knotting his hands between his knees and lowering his head. What the fuck was with these stupid emotions anyway? Humans were pathetic and weak, they were less than worms. He hated them. All of them. Ghouls were the superior species...Sighing, he lowered his head further. Even in his own mind he couldn't dispute the fact that this girl was the only human in the entire world he didn't hate. Why? Why didn't he hate her? More to the point, why didn't she hate him? She didn't even fear him and he'd tried to eat her twice already.

He remembered smelling her approaching, that sweet smell of her scent getting closer to him as he bled out in the alley. His mouth had watered and every part of him wanted to eat her, to devour that sweet smelling flesh. But then he'd seen her; her hair the colour of red wine and those azure blue eyes so filled with sadness. She was more pitiful than he was, he could sense it, but she'd reached out to him almost like she was inviting him to devour her and take away her pain. Emily was such a sad girl, hiding it behind a warm smile. It frustrated him to no extent.

But the question he wanted answered most of all was: could he actually bring himself to eat her. He'd never had hesitation or second thoughts when it came to killing, but this girl - he'd even tried to warn her to get away before he did eat her. But she was too stupid to listen and he ended up getting flicked on the nose.

"Fuck it." he said feeling fed up with being indecisive. He was going to get an answer now, then maybe he could make some kind of sense of the hellish turmoil inside him.

He didn't bother knocking before opening her door and barging in, ready to argue or verbally defend himself - whichever arose. But he stopped before he even got started. Emily was curled on her side, a thick text book flipped open lay beside her head. Whatever emotion Ayato had been experiencing fled from him as he sighed softly at her.

"Idiot." he whispered softly as he walked over to her and picked up the book; _The Complete Anatomy: Ghoul Edition._ Ayato frowned, why had she been reading this book? He was certain it wouldn't be on the school's reading list. The page she was on was also interesting, a diagram of a Ghoul anatomy and a list of the time it takes for each part to heal. Emily had scrawled some notes on the side, '_face, chest, ribs, abdomen, biceps, radius and ulna, quadriceps, deltoids, trapezus, gluteus medius, latissimus dorsi.'_ Shaking his head, Ayato closed the book and placed it on her bedside table next to a framed photo of a tall, muscular Japanese man with onyx hair and smokey eyes and a short, slender Caucasian woman with a mess of curly golden hair. They must have been Emily's parents. He picked up the photo to examine it closely. He'd seen GhoulxHuman relationships before, his sister was friends with a human, and it had always made him sick. But looking at these two in the photo, he felt nothing like that. They looked genuinely happy together and it made him curious. How could two species so different - one that ate the other - be _that_ happy and in love?

Emily moaned softly in her sleep making Ayato freeze, "...Papa..." Her brows furrowed as tears and she looked as though she was about to cry. From what he remembered, Emily's father was a Ghoul but now she was calling out for him in her sleep. Did she really love him that much? Abandoning his own values and morals, Ayato sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her burgundy hair behind her ear. Emily's expression softened instantly at his touch but Ayato's confusion and frustration only grew. He needed to leave this place as soon as possible and forget about her completely. It was the only way he was going to be able to survive in this hell.


	3. Chapter 3

May 8th, 6:00am

Emily wiped away the mist on the mirror and stared at her reflection trying to figure out how to wear her long, burgundy hair. Perhaps a messy bun with her bangs out, or a braided headband? Maybe she should just leave it out? She flicked her hair over her shoulder in annoyance, why did it have to be so long? Sighing she decided to just go with a simply ponytail, she would deal with her hair later when she didn't have an exam to worry about.

Wrapping the towel tighter around her body, Emily headed back into her room to change into her school uniform but instead of seeing a dimly lit empty room, she came face to chest with a being she never wanted to be caught in this kind of predicament with. Ayato was standing just outside her bathroom door, waiting for her for some unknown reason. Startled, she took several steps back but forgot that the floor was wet and slipped backwards. Ayato lunged foward to try and catch her before she fell but ended up going down with her. Emily landed on the ground, Ayato had manged to grab the back of her head so she landed on his hand instead of tiles, and blinked up at him. His body was cold and solid against hers, and he was heavy but she was too shocked to do anything except stare at him. How quickly this situation had developed.

Ayato stared at her wide eyed, his breath cool on her face. The only time she'd been this close to him was when he was trying to bite her, but now his impossibly soft hair was tickling her face, his hand knotted in her own hair and his body weight was crushing her. It felt like time had stopped completely as the two stared at each other, and then her gaze shifted from his midnight blue eyes to his lips. _Those lips have been stained with so much human blood, but they look so soft._ His lips parted slightly and Emily found herself wanting to kiss him, to see what it was like to kiss a Ghoul. Whether they were cold or warm or somewhere in between. More importantly, she wanted to know how _he_ tasted. As if sensing her thoughts, Ayato lowered his face closer to hers; _Yes, Ayato...Kiss me...Do it..._

"What's that smell?" he asked taking a big breath in, "It's like sweet and sour at once." Emily blinked at him, she was in a towel underneath him practically screaming at him to kiss her and all he was concerned about was a smell... Ghouls!

"It's watermelon." she said trying to hide her disappointment, "I use scented soap."

"Oh, so that's why you smell different from other humans." he said as he got off her and stood up, "Watermelon...Isn't that a fruit?"

"Yeah but the fruit is different from the scent." she told him also scrambling to get to her feet without flashing him. Ayato shrugged, "Well, I wouldn't know...It all tastes disgusting."

"That's your problem." she muttered under her breath, "Anyway, why were you in my room?"

"Oh right, I got a call from Uta. He's got a mask for me, do you think you could pick it up?"

"Why can't you do it yourself?" she asked him crossing her arms over her chest. Ayato gave her a look and gestured to his body, "Still healing remember. If I go out there like this who's to say what'll happen."

Emily rolled her eyes and started pushing him out of the bathroom, "Fine. But I have to work after school so I'll pick it up afterwards."

"Do you know where to go?" he asked her as they reached her bedroom door.

"Of course I do!" she snapped and slammed the door in his face. Stupid Ayato...Stupid Emily...

12.30pm

"Emily?" Chloe called waving her hand in front of her friend's face. Emily blinked and realized that she was being spoken to, "Huh?"

"Are you okay? You've been distant all day?" Chloe asked her curiously.

"Can't you tell? She's daydreaming about our wedding day." Toshio said with a deadpan expression while he read his book.

"Oh tell me I'm the bridesmaid?" Chloe laughed joining in on the joke but she quickly turned serious again when Emily didn't laugh, "Seriously, is there something wrong?"

Emily shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Just have some things on my mind." Or rather someone on her mind. Emily hadn't been able to concentrate all day, every time she tried to focus on her school work, Ayato's face would pop into her mind and her thoughts would start to wander. She felt conflicted inside. She could no longer deny that she didn't have any feelings towards him, that was made abundantly clear that morning. But she still felt like it was stupid to like someone so quickly after meeting them. Besides that there was Toshio. Her safe, sweet Toshio who wouldn't try to take a bite out of her in her sleep.

"I'm the guy." Toshio said again. This time Emily managed to smile, she loved the way he did that. He could be totally absorbed in a book or TV show, but could still pay attention to what was happening around him and respond in such serious tones you would never be able to tell he was joking unless you knew him.

"Toshi, can't you be serious for a second. I'm really worried, I need back up on this." Chloe whined. Toshio rolled his eyes and closed his book before looking Chloe directly in the eyes,

"Despite the fact she is sitting right here and under normal circumstance what I'm about to say would be deathly embarrassing, however Emily is a big girl. I have every confidence that if she thought she couldn't deal with a problem on her own, we would be the first people she came to." he said taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze, "Right?"

"Yeah..." Emily replied but Toshio and Chloe wouldn't be the first people Emily would go to. Not with this at least. Normal human problems, yes - Ghoul problems, no. She wondered if she could go to Renji or Uta with her current problem, well maybe not Uta. He didn't know that Toshio's family were all in the CCG, in fact she wasn't sure if he knew about Toshio in the first place. Uta wasn't _exactly_ part of Anteiku...

"Hmm, okay. I see your point." Chloe said giving up, "But, Emily, you know that since I'm your best friend you can talk to me about whatever and I'll be ready to listen, right?"

"I know." Emily said with a warm smile. Deep down she really did wish she could Chloe the truth, to talk to her like normal best friends do. But how on earth could she possibly explain her situation; she was housing a Ghoul who hated humans but she was developing romantic feelings towards him despite already being in a relationship with Toshio...Somehow she doubted it would go down so well.

12.30pm

Ayato's stomach growled as he stared at the ceiling, bored yet again. He frowned, this having to eat every day thing was really annoying. Normally, Ghouls could go one or two months just by feeding on the one body. But in his abnormal current condition, he was eating three packets of food a day plus coffee and water. He was going to get fat if this continued. He shuddered at the thought. He had been trying to extend the hours between each meal slowly, hoping to ween himself off eating so much. But as each hour passed he grew more and more irritable and unpredictable. The way things were looking, if he kept trying to delay his eating times, he would attack Emily without thinking.

Emily...She had practically begged him to kiss her earlier that morning. He could have, he shouldn't have but he wanted to. It had been the answer he was looking for but not the one he wanted. At least he didn't think he did. He had hoped that if he'd found the answer, he would no longer be so confused. But, instead, he was more lost than ever.

Shaking his head and sighing he decided it was best to leave such thoughts alone.

7.30pm

"Uta-san?" Emily called curiously as she closed the shop door behind her. Uta owned and ran HySy ArtMask Studio - specializing in bespoke masks used to hide a Ghoul's identity. Occasionally there were human customers too. Emily walked forward, browsing the array of masks as she walked towards the back room where Uta was probably sleeping.

"Are you here?" she called again softer than before as her attention was taken by the beautifully crafted masks.

"Oh?" a gentle-sounding voice spoke from behind her, making Emily jump, "Emily-chan? What are you doing out so late?"

Whirling around she came face to face with a pair of kakugan. Uta was and alternative looking guy of average height, part of his head was shaved and the rest of his hair he kept tied in a short pony tail, his bangs he left loose to hang to his chin on the right side of his face. Various tattoos covered his body but the most visible aside from his arms was the Latin quote written in Greek lettering around his neck. He'd told her once that it read: 'I can live neither with you, nor without you'. A testament to his relationship with humanity.

"You scared me!" She complained, lightly hitting his chest with her small fist. Uta cocked his head to the side, his expression blank,

"That was the point." he told her deadpan but she knew he was only teasing, "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm on an errand, actually." she informed him as she followed him over to his work bench, "A, uh, friend of mine asked me to pick something up for him."

"And this _friend_, his name would be...?"

"Ayato." Emily replied quietly as she stared at the ground. Uta dropped his pencil, the only sign that he was shocked.

"Ayato? Kirishima Ayato?" Uta asked, his back still to her and voice not raising an octave, "Blue hair, blue eyes, hates humans?"

"That sounds like him." Emily replied. _Kirishima? He's related to Touka? Why didn't I pick that..._

"Hmm..." Uta hummed thoughtfully. Emily had expected him to elaborate on it, but instead he just handed her a paper bag, "Here."

She took the offered bag, thanked him and promised she'd visit him soon and turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, Uta called out, "Emily,"

She half turned to look at him, he was still sitting at his work bench, hunched over a new design with his back to her, "Promise you'll come to me if anything happens."

Emily frowned at what he meant by 'anything' but agreed nonetheless. Uta and Renji were always at the top of her list of people to turn to when she needed help of any kind. It would seem strange to any other human for her to have such trust in Ghouls, but they were family. She smiled to herself as she walked to the train station, Ayato was right. She really was a fucked up human.

8.00pm

The streets were unnaturally quiet as Emily began her walk from the train station to her apartment complex. Almost like the night she met Ayato...

Ayato. Mixed feelings churned inside her at the thought of him. Guilt, pity, intrigue, attraction. She couldn't make sense of any of it. It wasn't as if she had never met a Ghoul who hated humans before, but there was just something about him, in the air around him. It was there in his eyes, in the way he spoke, the way he carried himself. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was becoming infatuated with him.

Perhaps it was because he was dangerous and she was growing bored of her mundane life. Toshio was sweet and caring, and she loved him, but he was just that. There was no excitement anymore. Ayato was a Ghoul, full of so much anger and that made him dangerous in more ways than one. But there was also a softer side to him. A side she witnessed when he'd been asleep on her balcony. And if what she suspected was correct and he was Touka's younger brother, then he also knew what it was like to be an orphan. Toshio, despite practically raising himself, still had his family. Perhaps she was just being fickle about the entire situation.

Ayato wasn't interested in her except as a meal, and he would be gone in a few days anyway. She would never hear from or see him again thus there was no point to her ridiculous emotions and over thinking things.

Emily was so caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't felt the subtle shift in the air until an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach caused her to stop walking. Her skin prickled, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she had the distinct feeling someone was watching her. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and tried to calm herself down - there were no Ghouls around this part of town. Only the one in her apartment. And the CCG didn't come here much either - no Ghouls, no CCG. That could only mean the cause of her apprehension was another human.

She turned to her right and peered down the ally she had found Ayato in. There was definitely someone down there, she could feel it in her bones. Slowly, she glanced towards the end of the street where the safety of her house stood tall like a shining beacon. She could make it if she ran. Subtly, she felt around her satchel for her house key. Her fingers brushed over the cool metal and she grasped it firmly.

A sudden rush of air whooshed past her from the alley and tugged at her hair, although it felt as though the wind had managed to cut part of it off. Instinctively reaching for her long ponytail, Emily was shocked to discover someone or something had indeed cut a piece of her hair off. Fear and panic coursed through her, it wasn't human. It wasn't human. IT WASN'T HUMAN!

Eerie, ethereal laughter danced maliciously around her. Emily didn't wait a second longer, instead she took off, sprinting as fast as she could to her house and the Ghoul inside. She felt the creature chasing her hot on her heels as she raced along the foot path, her muscles screaming and lungs burning at the unnatural speed she was pushing them. Her life depended on reaching that door. Tears unconsciously began forming in her eyes as she ran, tears of pain, of fear, or something else. Still she pushed her legs to go faster and faster. The stairs leading up to her front door were just beyond reach. So close now. She was so close to safety.

Emily pulled the key free of her bag and leapt two steps at once, turned along the landing, and continued up until she reached her floor. _Ayato! Please...!_ Her mind screamed the words her mouth couldn't form. Her fingers just brushed the cool metal handle when, like magic, the door opened and revealed a puzzled looking Ayato. Emily, still being propelled forward by the fear of death and the momentum of running, crashing into him and clutched his shirt tightly, panting hard.

Ayato stood still for a moment, just breathing, his arm around her middle unconsciously. And then he closed and locked the door.

"What's got you so shaken up?" he asked genuinely curious. After all, he'd attacked her twice and she hadn't even flinched. Emily, realizing what she was doing, pushed away from him and walked towards the kitchen, dropping her satchel and Ayato's paper bag on the ground gently.

"Why were you at the door?" she asked trying to keep her voice from wavering as she poured herself a glass of water.

"I caught the scent of another Ghoul close by." he replied simply. Emily slid her light blue eyes to his face. He was watching her closely, jaw tight and hands dug into his pants pockets.

"_That_'s why." she told him coldly.

9.30pm

"Wait, so other than me, there should be no Ghouls around here at all?" Ayato asked frowning as he sipped his coffee. He and Emily were sitting side by side on the couch, the first time they'd been in such proximity on purpose without him trying to eat her. The television was on but neither were watching nor paying attention.

Emily nodded slowly, "This was my father's territory. He would only feed on those who had died of natural causes or suicide, that way it didn't bring any unwanted attention from the CCG." she told him.

"That was enough for him? It's not like people die every few months around here unless we kill them." Ayato asked. Emily half smiled and pointed to the scrunched up brown paper sitting on a plate on the table,

"How do you think Yoshimura came up with the refrigeration idea. Yoshimura may have come up with the idea to use already dead bodies, but it was Dad who discovered the best way to store them in order to keep them fresh for months." She replied with a proud grin. Her father really was a great man, Ghoul or not.

"Okay, even so, surely his territory would have fallen to someone else by now right? Since he's gone."

Emily leaned against the pillows and shrugged, "Honestly I don't know why no one's tried to claim it. Anteiku even stay away from this place. They won't let the weaker Ghouls here either. I don't know whether it's Yoshimura keeping people away for this place to keep running, or if it's something else. All I know is that with no Ghoul activity, there's no CCG and because of that, this place is the ultimate safe zone for weak and injured Ghouls." Looking at her hands, she added softly, "That's all my parents wanted..."

Ayato was confused. This part of the 20th Ward was a prime hunting ground, that's what had brought him here initially until he'd been attacked by a Ghoul ten times stronger than him and left to die in the alley. But now that he thought about it, what Emily said was true. There were no other Ghouls around, except him and the mysterious scent from earlier.

"Hey," Emily said catching his attention again, "Uta said something today and I wanted to ask you about it. You can tell me if it's none of my business but your last name, it's Kirishima, right?"

For a split second Ayato was furious, why the fuck was this girl digging around in shit she had no business in?! But it was only for a second. Honestly he had hoped he could stay the remaining days until he left without her knowing who he was. But it seemed as though that old fool Yoshimura and Uta-san had other plans. Sighing, he let his anger dissolve permanently. After all, she was taking care of him and letting him know all about her life. Giving her a little something about his was only fair.

"Yeah, it is. Touka's my idiot older sister." he answered already knowing where her question was leading, "And yeah, I remember you from way back then."

Emily blinked at him, her azure eyes wide with surprise but she quickly recovered, "I feel bad because I didn't recognize you at all."

"Well," he said also leaning back against the arm of the lounge and staring at the ceiling, "I was covered in blood." Both teens were quiet for a while, each lost in their own thoughts staring at random parts of the apartment. There was a question that had been gnawing at Ayato, well more than one, but only this one was relevant to their conversation.

"Does she know?" he asked Emily, making the human girl look up at him.

"Hmm?"

"Touka. Does she know where I am?" he clarified. Emily shook her head, "No. The only person I've mentioned your name to is Uta. Although I get the feeling Yoshimura and Renji both know you're here. I doubt any of them would have told her, otherwise she'd be here."

"Good." was all he said.

"So, I know the last time I asked you this it made you angry. But your wounds are starting to worry me, they should have been fully healed by now and you shouldn't still be eating so much." Emily said knowing that it was time for a subject change, "What really happened to you?"

Ayato sighed, where to start? He couldn't even remember everything that happened. "I was hunting around this area, getting ready to go to another Ward. I was about to attack when something else attacked me. I never got a good look at it, but I had thought it was a Ghoul. A really strong Ghoul. But now that you said there weren't any around, that seems less possible."

"You don't remember what happened?" she asked him curiously. He shook his head, "I remember the pain, waking up in a pool of my own blood, crawing into the shitty alley and then you came along. Next thing I know I was lying on this couch with your face above me." Emily turned that delicious shade of red again and lowered her face to hide it from him. So, it was _that_ kind of emotion after all. When she looked up, the embarrassment had gone from her face and instead it was replaced by a serious demeanor,

"I haven't heard of anyone in the CCG possessing that kind of power, nor would they leave you breathing. And no human has that kind of power. I can't even stab you with a kitchen knife." Emily said. Ayato couldn't help but grin at her statement,

"You should try it. It could be fun."

"Trust your sense of fun to be totally macabre." Emily scoffed but shot him a small amused smirk, "Anyway, I think Yoshimura should hear about this."

"Honestly, what will that old fool do? Talk it to death?"

"Well he could have some information that we don't have, or maybe Itori-san will know something. Anyway, I'll talk to Uta about it tomorrow and see what he says." Emily said while Ayato just stared at her in amazement. "What?" she asked when she noticed him staring at her.

He shook his head, "You are, by far, the most messed up human I know."

Emily laughed, actually laughed. Not one of those half laughs, or the fake ones she did. A real genuine laugh, "Ayato," she said with a smile that could belong to a goddess, "I think I'm the _only_ human you know."


	4. Chapter 4

May 9th, 4:45pm

"So you haven't heard anything about it?"

Emily was sitting on a stool in HySy, she'd left school early just to visit Uta and ask his opinion on the mysterious force that had attacked Ayato. It had been on her mind all day, it just didn't make any sense. The only thing that could have done that much damage to a Ghoul was either another Ghoul or a Quinque.

Uta spun around on his own stool, an ear sticking out of his mouth and several pencil behind his own ears and in his tunnels. Emily held back the grimace threatening to form on her face and forced herself not to stare at the thing in his mouth otherwise she would probably throw up.

"Nuh." he replied then, tipping his head back to suck the ear fully into his mouth, continued talking, "Sorry, snacking helps my creative motivation. Hey, you should let me make a mask for you too. I've had a lot of ideas about what we could do...like maybe a full faced Venetian masquerade mask, one half white and the other black? Or a cracked porcelain doll? Or a kitsune ma-"

"Uta." Emily said bringing his attention back to the reason she was there, "I don't need a mask. What I need is information on what could possibly be in Dad's old territory that nearly killed Ayato. Can you help me?"

Uta lowered his gaze, "Emily-chan," he said using a tone that proved he was the _real_ Uta now, "You're father is a good man. I'd go as far as to say he was the best man I'd ever met. And your mother, she may have been human but she knew more about us than we did. She treated us as equals even if we attacked. I'd never seen anyone who came close to the amount of kindness or love your parents had - but they weren't weak. I'd only once ever seen just how strong Ryo-san was and how resilient Olivia-san could be. That was when someone they were looking after tried to attack you.

"Your parents asked Renji and I to take care of you if anything happened to them, and I know Renji has told you the same thing, but living by yourself in that place is dangerous."

Emily stared at Uta, she had never heard him speak like this before nor had she been told that story of her parents. It hurt to be reminded of them and their sacrifice to protect everything they held dear, but this was not what she was here for. "Uta-san, plea-"

Uta held up his slender, inked hand to silence her, "Kirishima Ayato is dangerous, wounded or not. I'm not saying you shouldn't keep helping like you are, but as soon as he leaves it'll be better for you to just forget him. He's not someone you should get too involved with, Emily."

"I already know that," she said lowering her gaze. It wasn't a lie, she did know he was dangerous and she knew that once he was gone the chances of them meeting again were less than slim but despite all that, she couldn't just leave things as they were, "I just want to find out if there's a bigger threat to Ghouls and humans than the CCG."

Uta sighed and swiveled back around to finish his sketch of a new mask design, "I want to help you, I really do. But I don't know anything about it."

Feeling more than a little disappointed, Emily stood and thanked him before heading towards the shop's front door, however, just like he'd done before, Uta called out to her as she left, "I'll get Itori to see what she can discover and let you know if anything comes up."

6:00pm

"Does that hurt?" Emily asked as she pressed the tips of her fingers against the bruising around Ayato's stomach wound.

"Not especially." he replied already sounding bored. Emily pursed her lips and moved her fingers closer to the actually gash until Ayato sat up, slapping her hand away harshly, and swearing.

"Jesus fucking Christ! What the shit are you actually trying to do? Stick your fucking fingers inside me?!" After a string of cursing, the Ghoul fell back against the couch and ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to calm down, "Sorry. It just hurt."

"Good." Emily replied as she dug through the medical kit she'd picked up from the store on her way home from HySy. Above her, Ayato scoffed,

"Glad you think so." he muttered in annoyance. Emily grinned and pulled out a handful of anti-bacterial wipes, a gauze pad and a extra large bandage, "Remind me again why I agreed to let you do this?"

"Because, the sooner you're better, the sooner you can go on your way." she replied trying not to let the disappointment she felt seep into her voice. Ayato grimaced and clutched the couch cushion as Emily dabbed disinfectant onto the wound that had opened up again. "What on earth do you keep doing to yourself?"

"I don't know." he hissed in response, "It just opens up on its own!"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were purposely doing strenuous stuff so you can stay here longer." she teased as she placed the gauze pad on his stomach.

"Yeah, I'm intentionally putting myself in pain just to hang out with a human." he muttered sarcastically, "So what did Uta-san say?"

"Can you sit up straight?" she asked him, Ayato did as she asked and sat up allowing her to wrap the bandage around him, "He said he hadn't heard anything like that in these parts but he'd get a friend to look into it and let me know."

"You're pretty close to him, huh?" he said in a low voice. Emily froze for a second, her arms around Ayato's waist and her face practically against his chest, she could feel each breath he took and hear the vibrations of his voice rumbling as he spoke.

"Uh, yeah." she said trying not to think about how close she was to him, "He used to come here a lot before I was born, and then even more so after."

"So he's kinda like the cool uncle who's not actually related to you, yeah?"

"More like the older brother I never had, or knew I had I guess." she replied securing the bandage and leaning back a touch to quickly, "Is that too tight?"

Ayato looked down to assess the job she'd done and patted his dressed wound lightly, "Nah, it's good. Siblings ain't as good as people make 'em out to be, take it from me." he said falling back against the couch again and staring at the ceiling. Emily gazed up at him curiously, she didn't remember much about him when she was younger, despite them being the same age. But she did remember how close she and Touka were once, until they both grew up and went down different roads. The one thing that had remained the same was the love Touka felt for her little brother, even know she knew the older girl would be worried sick about him even if she didn't show it.

"What happened?" she asked softly staring at her knees.

"Huh?" Ayato asked. Emily shook her head, she hadn't meant to ask the question out loud in the first place. Packing up her medical kit, she stood and walked over to the kitchen. Her mind was an even bigger mess than before and she had new unanswered questions.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked Ayato from the kitchen.

"I get the feeling you're going to anyway." he replied from the couch. Emily pursed her lips and leaned against the cool refrigerator door, "What happened between you two?"

"Me and my idiot sister? I guess I couldn't stomach her sick desire to be human. After everything they did to us, destroyed our family, she wanted to play fucking house with them?! Disgusting. She actually has a human friend, did you know? Kosaka something. She goes to school and acts like she's one of them..." he trailed off but the anger in his voice hadn't died out. Emily knew that the way he was now, asking the wrong questions could send Ayato into a hate filled rage. If she wanted to know more she was going to have to be careful.

"You didn't want to go to school then?" she asked curiously. Ayato scoffed, "Fuck no. Playing pretend isn't my thing."

"Yeah, I can see that." Emily said softly but this sudden outburst had her more than confused, was it her imagination or was Ayato speaking to her like she was a fellow Ghoul?

"Honestly, I don't get why we have to do so much to blend in. We're forced to eat fucking foul shit that makes us sick, behave and talk like them just so we're not slaughtered." Ayato stood suddenly and walked over to where Emily was and stood before her, "Why are we the ones forced to do this shit anyway? Humans are the ones on the goddamn menu, not us. What?"

Emily blinked and lowered her head, hiding behind her hair trying to think of a gentle way to say what she was thinking without pissing Ayato off, "Well it's just that you keep saying _them_ when talking about humankind, not _you_..."

Ayato stepped away and turned his back to her, "Look, don't get all weird on me but I guess I just don't really see you as a just some fucking pathetic human. You called us people, no human has ever said that before. We've always been monsters or worse. I don't think I hate you as much as your kind."

"But you still hate me?" Emily asked hoping that if she could hear him say it then she'd be able to get over these ridiculous feelings she was experiencing. If he said he hated her, she could live normally again.

But he didn't. He didn't say anything for a long time. Ayato just stood there with his back to her, staring at the floor, completely silent. And then, barely a whisper he said; "I don't know..."

6.30pm

_I don't know._ Those three words hung heavy in the air between Emily and Ayato. Three words that could send both their worlds crumbling around them. He'd said them and she had forced him. The truth - the truth she had been rejecting and the truth he had been denying. _I don't know if I hate you. I don't know if I like you_. Both of them had had their families taken away by the CCG, by humans yet they were still from opposite sides of the tracks. She was a human, trapped by those sworn to protect, he a Ghoul hunted by those sworn to attack. But their enemy was the same. So did that make her someone he could trust, or another enemy. Ayato didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore. He'd spent years of his life hating humans only to meet this one again after so long and have everything he knew thrown into question. Emily was human yet she knew how terrible it was to lose everything to the CCG, to be terrified for your life each day and never knowing if this one was the day you die. She knew how brutal Ghouls could be as well and she still didn't hate them for it. Ishihara Emily was a better person than he could ever hope to be; gentle, kind..._loving_. Just like _him_. Just like his goddamn father. That was why he hated her.

But she saw through the bullshit. She saw through _his_ bullshit. She saw his pain and sympathized with him, shared it with him. She had reached out to him, that one light in the darkness calling to him. Saving him. He'd tried to kill her, he'd wanted kill her, but she didn't fear him, she didn't hate him, she continued to worry and care for him. That was why he liked her. No.

That was why he loved her.

He hated and loved Emily. He couldn't stand to be around her, but he didn't want to be without her. She contradicted everything he believed in.

These feelings...he'd felt them before but he'd forgotten them, forgotten her. Ever since he'd seen her in Anteiku all those years ago, knowing she was a human child he'd hated her. Humans had taken away his parents, his childhood, his home. But she'd smiled and given him a flower. He'd forgotten about that. Each time she'd visit, she would always ask where he was and if he wanted to play. He would stay in the shadows and watch from a distance. Never interacting with her even though he wanted to. Goddamn it!

6.30pm

_I don't know_. It was those three words that tore at Emily. Ayato was unsure how he felt about her. She shouldn't have cared, shouldn't have bothered trying to find out what he thought because it had ended worse than she'd planned. She had believed he would hate her and then she could forget him. But those three words were the sword of Damocles hanging over her head.

But she needed to know. There was an unyielding desire to find out for herself, a desire that clawed and sank its teeth deep into her soul, refusing to let go. Now that he had said those words, it only grew more powerful. Kirishima Ayato. The boy so angry he was like an oncoming storm of nightmares. But, just like a storm, there was an eye - a calm place hidden behind the rage. She had seen that, she had felt that. It was there within him.

Forgetting the world outside her walls and shutting off her opposing thoughts for a moment, Emily gave into the itch. Stepping forward towards Ayato, she reached out to him. He didn't move, didn't flinch, as her fingertips met his cool flesh, dancing lightly over his back, sides and came to rest against his chest and stomach. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder blade gently. Ayato stool motionless and allowed her to embrace him.

"Emily..." he said softly, his voice low but stern, "I don't want to do this."

"I know." she replied. She didn't know how long they stood like that, each trying to figure out the moral philosophy of their situation, each unwilling to part from the other but neither wanting to stay that way.

For the first time in a long time she could _feel_ something instead of just being able to touch; his cool skin beneath her heated flesh, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, the minute spasmodic flexes of his abdomen, his muscles tense and relax unconsciously. She was Eve in the garden of Eden and he was the Forbidden Fruit. She knew if she did more than this it would be disastrous for both of them.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." Ayato said in the same tone as before. Emily closed her eyes,

"I know..."


	5. Chapter 5

May 10th, 9.45am

Emily didn't want to leave her bed that morning. She wanted to stay under the covers, locked in her isolation where she didn't have to face the consequences of yesterday. If she left her room, Ayato would be gone. That was what kept her there. The fear that he really would be gone. Emily rolled onto her side and hugged the photo of her parents closer to her,

"You were right, Daddy..."

"Emily?" The muffled voice called her from the other side of the door, making her sit up. He hadn't left yet? Ayato knocked once then spoke again, "There's more blood..." Closing her eyes, Emily took a deep breath and readied herself to face the source of all her problems once again.

Ayato was leaning on his hand against the door frame, his expression unreadable. He was dressed in the clothes she'd bought him. Emily's eyes went straight to his problematic stomach wound, but there was no sign of bleeding and he didn't look like he was in any pain. She frowned,

"You're not bleeding." she stated. Ayato shook his head,

"I only said that to get you out here." he replied, stopping her from closing the door with his foot, "You might be able to lock yourself in here and forget what happened last night, but I can't."

"Ayato..." Emily sighed but he pushed his way into her bedroom and kept talking.

"It pisses me off - you piss me off. You're toxic, Emily, and it's driving me insane. Every time you're around I'm not sure whether I'm going to attack you or kiss you, sometimes I just want to do both and it...It scares me. Thinking that way. All these fucked up thoughts in my head. You're a human, I eat you. It'd be like a farmer falling in love with a cow. It's fucking wrong. That's why I have to leave. For your safety and my sanity. Staying here is killing me." He said as he paced back and forth. Emily lowered her gaze to the ground, she had guessed he would be feeling some kind of torment but she had never imagined it could be this bad. Ayato stopped walking and looked down at her, "But...I don't want to go."

Ayato looked pitiful, admitting all of this must of been absolute hell for him and that broke Emily's heart. The numbness that had been her constant companion for five years hugged her tightly like a warm blanket on the coldest day. She stepped towards him and rested her hands on his biceps,

"That's why you have to." she told him softly, "Because you don't want to." This was good for both of them, she could resume her life before him and he could regain his mental state. Ayato's hands moved to her hips, "Just leave me one memory before I leave?"

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded slowly. She was staring at his mouth again, those beautiful lips that had tasted so much flesh. They moved closer to hers, with each breath they neared and then, ever so lightly, brushed against hers...

_Ding Doooong~_

Ayato straightened and scowled at something behind Emily, "Expecting a visitor?" he asked coldly. Emily, who was normally calm and peaceful, mirrored his annoyance directed at whomever had the audacity to ruin the only bittersweet moment she was going to get with Ayato.

"Why would I be expecting someone?" she muttered angrily as stalked towards the front door. She didn't care who was at her door, they were going to get one hell of a mouthful.

_Ding Doooong~_

"Yes, yes!" She called begrudgingly and yanked open the door without checking. Honestly, she had expected Renji or Uta, or Toshio even - anyone but the person towering over her with a wide Cheshire grin. Emily's anger evaporated and in its place rose a fear more powerful than one she'd ever felt.

"You..." she whispered as she stared in horror up at the being before her. His grin grew wider and she went to slam the door on him, but he was far stronger than her and shoved it back open, making the girl retreat backwards into the safety of her house.

"Good morning, Emily-chan."

9:55am

Emily was frozen in fear. Why? How? He wasn't supposed to be here. He _couldn't_ be here! He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.

"Ahh~ I missed this smell." he said holding his long arms out wide, "You smell as sweet as ever, Emily-chan."

"You shouldn't be here..." she whispered again, her voice shaking out of the tremendous fear she was experiencing. He dropped his arms and a dark expression fell over his features like a shadow, "If that old bastard had his way, I would have rotted away in the 5th Ward. Damn that bastard Yoshimura..."

He turned back to face Emily, who was clutching her hands to her chest in fear, a predatory grin back on his face, "But I had to see you again, smell your delicious, sweet -" The Ghoul's grin dropped, his nose twitching as he smelt something he didn't like, "Who else is here?!" Suddenly, the Ghoul was flying through the wall and into the next apartment.

"That would be me." Ayato said cracking his neck as he stalked towards the new hole in the wall, his hands dug deep into his pants pockets and a dangerous look on his face.

"Who-" she heard the other Ghoul cough from the next room, "Who are you?!"

"That's my line." Ayato stated darkly. The Ghoul climbed back through the hole and staggered to his feet, blood seeped from a head wound and his kakugan had been activated.

"You shitty brat!" the Ghoul screamed, "You kicked me into the wall! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" The Ghoul charged, but Ayato was stronger. Planting his foot squarely in the Ghoul's face, he twisted his foot, breaking the other's nose before forcing him onto his back.

"A weak piece of shit like you is going to kill me? How ridiculous." Ayato said coldly as he pressed more weight into the other Ghoul's face. The Ghoul flailed, crying out in agony. A sadistic smirk tugged at Ayato's features. He was enjoying it.

"Ayato!" Emily cried covering her ears to the tormented screams of the Ghoul, she couldn't bare to hear it. He terrified her, yes, but she had sworn to help those in need. Ayato was putting her in an uncomfortable position. His eyes slid to her face and he understood. Removing his foot, he bent down and grabbed the collar of the Ghoul's shirt,

"Get the fuck up." he ordered, "Let's go for a little walk."

10.03am

Ayato tossed the weaker Ghoul hard against the stone wall near Emily's apartment complex. He coughed and blood sprayed in Ayato's direction.

"Disgusting." he muttered walking over to the injured Ghoul and grabbed him by his dirty brown hair, "Oi, I won't ask again so tell me who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Akiyama Goro." Blood dribbled down from the Ghoul's chin as he spoke. Ayato's eyebrow arched, he seemed to be much more talkative now, "How do you know Emily?"

"She...Looked after me once..." Goro panted, "She's special...to me. So fragile, breakable like a china doll. I want to protect her...I want..._her_." Goro opened his eyes and sneered, ramming his fist hard into Ayato's abdomen, "I won't let a shitty brat like you get his hands on her!" Ayato grimaced against the pain, Goro had aimed for his wound but had missed thankfully however that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less.

Ayato spun and kicked Goro back down and stood on his ankle, breaking it. Goro cried out again. A dark hatred rose within Ayato as he glared down at Goro - this Ghoul was weak. Even as injured as he was, Ayato didn't even have to get serious to kill him. It was pathetic. He'd had enough of this sickening sight.

"You..." Goro gasped, spitting blood at the younger Ghoul and hitting his cheek, "You can't have her!"

"Too late." Ayato said, grinning sadistically as he loomed over Goro, a dark shadow of death and destruction.

10:26am

Emily sat on the floor of her kitchen, unable to move, unable to think about anything except Akiyama Goro had found her again. Yoshimura and Renji had both promised her that he wouldn't be back, that's why they'd sent him away. But he had turned up on her door step! The pieces started falling to place; the phone call, the Ghoul chasing her the other day - it was Goro. And now Ayato had gotten mixed up in it. Goro may have been weak against Ghouls like Renji and even Yoshimura, but Ayato was wounded still. She wondered whether he'd actually be able to fight against Goro and win.

That demonic, sadistic grin he wore appeared in her mind again...The warnings Yoshimura, Renji and Uta had all given her made sense now. Kirishima Ayato _was_ dangerous. Why had she convinced herself otherwise?

Footsteps approaching made her freeze and stare at the closed door, waiting to see which one of them would open it. Goro or Ayato? Ayato or Goro? The Ghoul who stalked her or the one who terrified her? The handle twisted, the wood groaned softly as it was slowly pushed open. Emily stopped breathing - would this be the day she died?

Cold azure blue framed with blood made him look shockingly terrifying but he spoke so softly, "It's okay now, Emily. You're safe." Her body moved on it's own, falling into his arms despite the blood that soaked him. She didn't care. He had just murdered a member of his own kind. She didn't care. He had enjoyed it. She didn't care. He'd protected her.

Ayato's arms held her against him tightly, just like the way her father had done. She felt totally secure, like nothing bad could get her while she was wrapped in his embrace. He really didn't have to leave, did he?

Ayato held her back from him and gazed into her eyes, "If you plan on continuing to run this place, please get Uta to stay with you. I don't want to hear that a piece of trash like Akiyama murdered you one day. If not for yourself, do it for me?"

Emily looked away from him, if he was so concerned about her safety why didn't _he_ stay instead? She knew the answer and she knew she was being petty but still...

Ayato sighed and lifted her chin, "We're even now, you and I."

"I won't see you again, right?" she asked him quietly. Ayato shook his head, "Not if I can help it. Well, Ishihara Emily," he said and kissed her forehead gently, "Later."

Emily watched his back as Kirishima Ayato walked out of her life forever without looking back once. She didn't cry, she didn't hide under her bed like she used to when she was a child. Instead, she grabbed her bag and shoes and left her house. She walked aimlessly for hours, her feet aching, until she finally came to a familiar door. The room was empty when she stepped inside, except for the mannequins that lined the floor. Emily headed straight to the back room where she knew he would be.

"Emily-chan, what's wr-?" Uta trailed off as Emily rested her head against his chest. She didn't say anything, but then she didn't need to. He had warned her, told her that she was better off just forgetting about Ayato. She hadn't listened and now that something had happened, she had come to him.

"Onii-san," she said softly, "Can you make me a mask? Mine's broken."

"Yeah, I can." he replied, "Do you want to stay?" Emily nodded, she'd spent far too much time alone. She needed her family.

11.58pm

The phone rang twice before the person on the other end picked up.

"It's Uta." the mask maker said, "She's with me."

"Good." the voice on the other end replied, "And the boy?"

"Gone I assume, judging from her reaction." he answered, gazing at the sleeping human girl curled up on his bed. Such a sad child, all the laughter and fun had been taken away from her. It was such a pity.

"Mmm." the voice hummed distantly. Uta frowned and turned his back to the sleeping girl,

"You sound discontented with that. I thought you wanted him gone."

"It's nothing." the voice answered, "Thank you for your hard work, Uta." The phone clicked and the other end went silent. Uta glanced back at Emily once more before leaving her to sleep soundly while he worked on her mask design.


	6. Chapter 6 - Time Skip

March 20th, 11:17am

The cafe was buzzing with conversation that particular morning when Emily arrived. Everyone all seemed to be talking about the same thing - the rise in recent deaths. It seemed as though a Ghoul was going on a spree. However, although the comments of concern from both races was high, it was for two different reasons.

"Welcome~" the young girl's voice called brightly, "Oh, hey Emily."

"Hey." Emily greeted the girl with indigo hair and tried to hide how much it hurt to see her face, "Is he here?"

"Upstairs, go on through." Kirishima Touka directed her. Emily thanked her and pushed open the door to the back room. It smelled delicious, roasted coffee beans filled the air and instantly made Emily feel good. She had been going to Anteiku once a week for a year as part of a deal with Uta and Renji. In return for neither of them turning up at her house every day to make sure she was alive after the Goro incident had leaked, she agreed to check up with Yoshimura. In a way, despite still operating by herself, she now reported to Anteiku.

He was waiting for her in the meeting room, two steaming cups of coffee were placed on the table; one in front of him and the other where she was to sit.

"Business seems to be good these days." she said closing the door and walking over to the couch, "Even have some human customers, I see."

"We are doing quite well here." Yoshimura chuckled, "Although I fear that with this problematic woman, that might change."

"The Binge Eater? You know who it is, don't you?" Emily asked as she gazed into the warm liquid brown inside her teacup.

"Kamishiro Rize. She turned up here around the same time." he told her as he sipped from his own cup, "But you're not here to discuss how well Anteiku is doing and recent murders. How are you, Emily-chan?"

"I'm fine. School is normal, my grades a good. Toshio is preparing to join the Academy next year so he's been busy with studying and working out, which is odd for someone like him. He doesn't really put a lot of effort into it but Akihiro told him it'd be a good idea to get a head start anyway." Emily replied easily. Yoshimura hummed thoughtfully,

"Doesn't he have a year of high school left?"

"Oh I didn't tell you? His father got him to take the aptitude test early, apparently he's classed as a genius so they're enrolling him a year early." Emily replied with a shrug, although she was worried that despite his lack of interest in Ghouls as a whole, Toshio would be compelled to do his best. She feared that one day he may even work under _him..._The CCG'S Reaper.

"Hamada Toshio, the youngest son of Hamada Masanori...I suppose we'll have to keep an eye on him just like the rest of his family." Yoshimura sighed and rubbed his chin in the thoughtful manner.

"I guess, but Toshi isn't really as zealous as his family. If anything, he'll probably just coast through the two years at the Academy and get a desk job. That's how he's talking anyway." Emily replied although the thought of Toshio turning out like his father scared her. Masanori was an excellent First-Class Investigator assigned to the 23rd Ward - Cochlea, a Ghoul prison, along with his two sons Akihiro and Isao both Rank 1 Investigators. Though why Investigators were stationed there, Emily had no clue.

"And what of your recent house guest? Has she behaved herself?" Yoshimura asked steering the conversation away from possible disastrous futures.

"Chou? Oh she's been fine. But I suppose that's expected of someone as young as her. She still hasn't spoken a word yet and she cries at night though." Emily replied, "What are you planning on doing with her?"

"I'm still trying to find somewhere she can live but that's getting rather difficult these days..." the old man said looking as though he was staring at something far away. Emily got the feeling he knew something was coming, something bad.

"Well she's fine to stay with me. It's not like I get many visitors anymore." Emily replied finishing her coffee and standing up, "I should go, Uta's probably terrifying her as we speak."

"Uta's looking after her?" he asked also standing and following Emily to the door. She nodded, "I don't feel right leaving her alone at home, and bringing her here was out of the question. I did try calling Renji but-"

"Ah yes, he's looking into something for me. Sorry about that." the old man interrupted apologetically. Emily shook her head, "Don't apologize, he's your employee. Uta was in the neighbourhood anyway. He's strangely good with kids." Yoshimura chuckled and the dark cloud that had been hanging over his head dissipated. Emily waved goodbye and descended back into the cafe where Touka was just finishing with a customer.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" the older girl asked, pulling Emily aside quickly. Once they were alone, Touka's expression shifted to a cold glare, "I get that you're busy playing Florence Nightingale with us but I know about that guy you're dating. If that compromises our lives here in any way, I will kill him."

Emily held Touka's glare with impassive calmness of her own, "Touka-san, I have as much to fear from the CCG as you."

"Whatever." Touka snapped, "Just keep that in mind." Emily sighed as she watched Touka leave wondering how the rift between them had grown so large. They were friends once, when they were little. It had taken some time but Emily had once thought of her as a best friend. But then her dad stopped bringing her to Anteiku and her world shattered. That was in the past now, it would probably be best if she just forgot all about it. Putting on her invisible mask, Emily made for the shop front door again. As she reached for the handle, it was suddenly pushed open making Emily step back in surprise.

"Ah! Sorry!" before her stood a shy looking boy with dark hair carrying a book under his arm. Emily shook her head and stepped to the side, allowing him to pass by,

"Please don't worry about it." she said politely as the boy smiled awkwardly and touched the back of his head.

11.57am

"I'm home!" Emily called closing her door and taking off her shoes. Chou, the ten year old Ghoul who's father had been killed, looked up from the drawing she was doing, blinked twice and then continued what she was doing.

"Welcome home." Uta called from his stretched out position on the couch. Emily froze for a second, a memory of Ayato lying in the same position mumbling an unenthusiastic greeting to her flashed in her mind. Quickly, she mentally slapped herself and went to sit with Uta and Chou.

"Chou-chan, did you have fun while I was out?" she asked sweetly. Chou nodded and continued her drawing. Emily leaned over to see what the younger girl was working so hard on. She hadn't had much experience in interpreting children's artwork however she assumed it was a drawing of Chou and her parents. She pointed to two tree like figures to the side. "What are these?"

Chou stopped colouring and pointed to Uta on the couch and then to up at Emily. Emily's eyes widened in surprise; Chou had drawn she and Uta on the drawing Chou's left. She watched with curiosity as the girl finished colouring and then began writing something at the bottom of the page where she'd left bare.

"My..." Emily began reading as the little girl wrote, "Family?" Chou had been with her for several weeks now after Uta had found her crying outside his shop one morning and had brought her to Emily. He'd occasionally drop by whenever he was around and the girl seemed to have taken quite the liking to him. Still it must have been hard for her to live without her parents that young...Just like Emily had.

"How did it go at Anteiku?" Uta asked her bringing her attention back to the present. Emily sat down on the armchair behind her,

"The same. Yoshimura asked how I was and how Chou is doing, we talked a little about the Binge Eater and Touka threatened me." Emily replied airily. Uta frowned and sat up, giving Emily his full attention,

"Why?"

"Toshio. She's worried I'm going to tell him about them and this place. I don't really blame her especially after what she went through." she replied with a shrug, "She's worked hard to get where she is now, if I were in her place I would be wary of me too."

"Hmm, I guess." Uta looked like he wanted to say more but remained silent on the subject. Instead their discussion turned to something a bit more relevant, "You mentioned you spoke about the Binge Eater, Yoshimura knows who it is then right?"

"Don't act like you don't either." Emily replied smirking at him, Uta smiled and stretched like a cat, "What are you planning, Onii-san?"

Uta stood up and moved over to Emily's chair, leaned down and poked her nose gently, "Don't you worry, little Emily." he told her before straightening and turning to Chou, "See you later, Chou-chan."

"Oh yeah," Uta said as he slipped on his shoes by the door, "Itori wants you to visit her."

"Is it about _that_?" Emily asked hopefully. Uta shrugged, "I dunno. But don't go without me, okay?"

"Isn't Helter Skelter your second home anyway?" Emily teased playfully. Uta laughed quietly, "More or less. See you."

Once he was gone, Emily leaned forward on her knees and allowed herself a small moment to feel again. She'd been trying to keep a firm grasp on her reality but it was obvious that her world was spiraling out of her control again. Her two lives were on the verge of crashing together in the most worst way possible. She'd always known that one day she would have to chose between her human life and her life with Ghouls, but she had hoped that it would take longer. She had kept secrets from Yoshimura involving Toshio and his ability to be a great and dangerous Investigator even if he didn't take it seriously now, the possibility of him killing someone she knew and loved in the near future was too real. What would she do if one day she'd discovered her boyfriend had killed one of her friends, or worse Uta or Renji? And that was only the beginning of her problems. There was talk, a rumour floating around the CCG of a Ghoul organization whose sole purpose was to kill humans, mainly the CCG. If that rumour was true and there was a group of Ghoul's targeting members of the CCG it would be terrible for both sides. And if such a thing was true, there was a strong possibility that _he_ would be part of it.

Tugging on her sleeve made Emily look up, Chou was gazing at her worriedly. Emily put on her brightest fake smile for the girl and pointed to her drawing, "Do you want to put that on the fridge?" Holding her hand to her mouth, Chou nodded and half turned to retrieve her artwork. That was the last time Emily let herself think about how dark the future could turn out, she had a responsibility to this little girl and helping her live again.

3.35am

Screaming jolted Emily from her sleep and she was on her feet and running towards it before she was fully awake. Nudging the ajar door open with her shoulder, she snapped on the light and went to the young girl's bedside. Chou was sitting up in her bed crying, the blankets were tossed around carelessly. She'd had another nightmare.

"Chou-chan, it's okay, it was just a dream." Emily repeated the same words she'd been saying for weeks and pulled the girl into her arms, letting her cry until she inevitably got the hiccups. It reminded her of herself at that age, only instead of not talking, Emily chose not to feel.

"Hey, Chou-chan," she said softly as she smoothed the girl's messy dark hair, "I lost my father when I was your age too." She didn't know why she was talking about this now, but she didn't stop, "My mother had died a few years before in a car accident so it was just me and him. Then one day when he was out, he was killed by an Investigator. It was a silly thing too... If he hadn't of been there..."

Chou began her hiccup phase and was sniffling every few seconds, she could have been asleep for all Emily knew, but she kept on talking, "There was a construction team nearby, some scaffolding collapsed, crushing four people underneath. My dad was the first one to try and get them out. That amount of steel and metal is heavy, but he lifted it like it was nothing which caught the attention of an Investigator who happened to be passing by. They didn't even let him finish helping those poor people..."

Both girls were quiet for a while, each thinking about their own families taken away by others. Each letting their own sadness fill them again. Emily missed her father more than anything in the world - she didn't care about her real parents or whether she had any siblings, Ishihara Ryota and Olivia were her world. Now all she had was fuzzy memories, some clothes and old photos.

"A man..."

Emily looked down at the small girl curled up in her arms wondering if what she'd just heard was real. Chou lifted her head and looked up at Emily with her big blue eyes, "A man with a big case...He killed daddy." Tears welled in the girl's eyes again, Emily did the only thing she could and held her tightly. She hadn't been there when her own father was killed, but whatever this girl had seen, she was stronger and braver than Emily could ever hope to be.


	7. Chapter 7

April 5th, 7:45am

"Onee-san, your phone is ringing!" Chou called as she ran into the kitchen where Emily was preparing snacks for when Chloe and Toshio came over. They had an assignment coming up soon and today was the only day they all could gather to finish it. Emily placed the knife down and cleaned her hands on a tea towel before taking her mobile from her little house guest. She didn't bother checking the caller I.D and just assumed it was one of her friends.

"Hello?"

"Emily, it's Yomo." the caller said in a low voice, "Do you have time today? There's someone I want you to meet."

"I have a group assignment with Chloe and Toshio today..." Emily said apologetically, she hated turning Renji down especially when he called her, but she really couldn't afford to have Ghouls over when those two were around. Even Chou was going to play with Uta for the day. But still, it was rare Renji called her first, "Will take more than two hours?"

"No." he replied, "We'll be there soon." He didn't wait for her reply before he hung up. Emily sighed and put her phone on the counter, this was cutting it too close for her liking. But instead of worrying, she continued what she was doing. Whoever this person was, they were important.

She had just finished putting the snacks in the fridge when her doorbell buzzed. Chou skipped down the hallway, humming tunelessly until she reached the couch. "Is it Onii-san?" she asked dangling off the arm of the couch. Emily shook her head,

"Uta won't be here for a while yet." she replied opening the door. Renji, as usual, wore his long coat and stoic expression and beside him stood a nervous looking boy with dark hair and an eye patch over his left eye. He looked strangely familiar.

"Uh, hi." he said meekly with an awkward smile. It was the smile that triggered her memory - he was the boy from Anteiku. The human who liked to go there every week. What was he doing with Renji?

"Hi." she replied suspiciously and stood to the side to let them both in. Renji walked straight over to the couch where Chou was hiding and the boy followed like a lost puppy, still unsure on whether what he was doing was okay.

After making a pot of coffee, Emily joined the two men in her lounge room, sitting on the arm chair closest to the hallway. Chou, having had her curiosity get the better of her, stayed hidden behind the chair, occasionally peeking out. Renji's steel gray eyes slid to the little girl questioningly.

"Don't mind her, she's shy around new people." Emily told him from behind her cup, "So I assume you wanted me to meet him?"

"Yeah." was all Renji said, Emily's gaze shifted to the boy trying to make himself invisible at the end of her couch. He felt her gaze and looked up, smiling that smile again,

"Uh hi, I'm Kaneki Ken." he said, "You're Emily-chan right? The Manager told me a little bit about you. You're...You're human right?"

Emily arched an eyebrow at him, "I am. And what are you?"

"Half." Renji replied before Kaneki had a chance to. Emily almost dropped her cup - Half? How was that even possible?

"I don't really understand it but up until recently I was human and now...I'm not..." Kaneki told her, "The Manger said you know what it's like to belong to both worlds so I wanted to meet you." Emily sighed and closed her eyes, understanding why he was at her house. She had known nothing besides this life, walking the line between two worlds, but he had been carelessly tossed onto it and left to balance on his own. Whoever did that to him was the real monster in both worlds.

"So you want to hear my story in hopes that it will shed some light on your current situation, is that it?" she asked. Kaneki looked down into his coffee and nodded,

"If that's okay with you?"

"Sure, I don't mind, but I'm different from you. I can help you adjust to having to live in two worlds as a human but I can't help you adjust to living as a Ghoul. We're two different species, and you are on a whole other level. You're unique and because of that you have to find your own way to live, we can only help guide you along." Emily said softly. Kaneki nodded again, showing that he understood what it was she was saying; that even if he knew her story and her experiences, it may not even help him at all.

"When my parents met, my mother was a doctor and my father had just broken up a drunken brawl happening just outside of her practice. Apparently it was love at first sight. They dated for a few years before finally getting married. I don't know when my mother found out he was a Ghoul, but it didn't change their love. She quit her practice and started operating out of here, Blue Lotus. It's a safe house for Ghouls my father started. Eventually they wanted a family, so after years of trying for a baby they realized that their genetics were incompatible and ended up adopting." Emily told him, "Growing up, my parents never hid what my father was, what they did here and that though I wasn't their natural child, they loved me all the same. When I was old enough, I started helping them out with our _guests_, Mamma would teach me about medicine and Dad would take me with him to Anteiku. After they died, I stayed with Renji for a while until I was old enough to continue what my parents started."

"My parents both died when I was young too. Dad died when I was really little so I don't remember him, but I would spend hours reading his books. And Mom..." he trailed off briefly losing himself in his own sadness before returning back to the conversation, "Can I ask what happened?"

"Mamma died when I was seven, car accident. She was human after all. Dad was killed when I was ten." Emily replied, watching Chou creep around the side of the chair out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm sorry..." he said quietly. Emily sighed again and leaned back into her chair; Kaneki Ken was still a baby starting to crawl in many ways. He knew virtually nothing of the horrors held within the Ghoul world and though that wasn't his fault, he was going to have to learn quickly and figure out who the real bad guys in this story were. Was it the Ghouls who hunted humans to survive, the humans who hunted Ghouls to live without fear or was it both? People died on both sides every day in the name of survival, though some may claim it was justice, it all boiled down to the same thing. Empty words no matter how sincere spoken were just words.

"You've got good people around to help you," she said glancing to Renji once before meeting Kaneki's eye again, "but remember that my door is always open no matter which path you travel down. You'll always have a place here."

Kaneki and Renji left soon afterwards and Emily wondered whether he truly understood the gravity of her words. She smiled despite her cool attitude towards him, she was glad there was someone else who was joining her on the thin line between worlds. It was nice knowing she wasn't alone anymore.

10.59am

"You can't take her to Helter Skelter!" Emily gasped at the man sitting on her couch, his arms dangling between his knees, black wrap sweater half hanging off his shoulder and sunglasses sitting atop his head, "She's ten years old, she can't be in a bar!"

Uta cocked his head to the side, "I don't see any problem with it." Emily pinched the bridge of her nose, he was being exceptionally obtuse today which could only mean one thing. Uta was up to something, something Emily wasn't to know about. She leaned down and put her hands on his shoulders, staring him right in the eyes,

"I don't care what it is you're planning, but leave her out of it. Please?"

Uta's gaze softened and he pressed the tip of his nose lightly against hers in a playful manner, "How can I resist a plea from you? But you know, I wasn't going to make Chou-chan part of my plans anyway. I just like watching your reactions, it's fun."

"You're annoying." Emily muttered as she straightened and turned her back to the older male. She heard him laugh softly and then his arms were around her in a warm hug,

"You love me though." he told her resting his chin on her shoulder. Emily rolled her eyes, it was rare that Uta was this affectionate but not uncommon. He had his moments. She just took it to mean that something had recently gone exactly the way he planned it to resulting in a good day.

"Onii-san, I'm ready!"

Uta released her and floated over to Chou, picking up her Sailor Moon backpack for her, "Let's go." he said taking her hand.

"Have fun." Emily told Chou walking with them both to the door, then to Uta added, "Take care of her."

He flipped his sunglasses down and half smirked at her, "Sure thing, we're gonna have a lot of fun." Emily shook her head as the door closed, separating the people she cared about and herself. Her apartment was empty and cold again. Every time someone left it was like the warmth left with them. She was used to living alone, but that didn't mean she liked it.

It was still half an hour before Toshio and Chloe arrived so she wandered out onto her balcony and gazed at the city below. Kaneki Ken...He had eyes like hers, lonely and sad. Being thrust into this deep ocean without a life raft would have been terrifying and horrible for him. She pitied him and yet she envied him. While she was tied to both sides, she was remained human. Her place would always be with humans no matter how many Ghoul friends she had. Kaneki truly belonged to both. Maybe if she had been born a Ghoul, perhaps her parents would still be alive. Maybe she wouldn't have to worry Renji and Uta and rely on them so much. Maybe Ayato would have stayed...No. He was always going to leave. Whether Emily was human or Ghoul didn't matter.

3.33pm

"You did tell her that I wanted to see her, right?" Itori asked leaning over the bar. Uta absentmindedly fingered a peanut shell in circles on the bar top feeling bored. He'd been at Helter Skelter for three hours and humans were still pouring in in dribbles, too many to have any fun with and get away with it. His gaze slid to the patron a stool down from him, sweat forming on his forehead and a red hue glowing on his cheeks as his eyes stayed glued to the bartender's exposed cleavage. What a pervert.

"Yeah." Uta replied feeling disgusted at what he was witnessing. If only he could pull those greedy eyes right out of his face.

"Then why hasn't she been in?" Itori questioned. Uta shrugged, the action causing his sweater to fall further down his arm, exposing the Aztec-esque designs tattooed all the way down his arms to his fingers even more. This conversation was boring, Itori was getting annoying. He was having such a good day too.

"Miss! Another here!" A patron called from the other end of the bar. Itori grumbled incoherently and pushed off the bar, a perfect smile gracing her face as she moved to serve her customers. Why was she being so pushy today? It wasn't like he could control what Emily did or didn't do. Well he _could_ but he didn't want to. She was like his kid sister. Plus she was interesting enough without him having to do anything, something that was always great in his opinion.

Besides, _that person_ wouldn't be too happy if Uta started messing around with Emily more than he already did. Anyway, he'd promised he'd protect her even against himself. Itori returned and placed another glass of _wine_ on the bar for him,

"Listen, I know your feelings towards her, U-chan, but I really need to talk to her. Please bring her here, drag her if you have to." she said. Uta sighed and sipped the red liquid,

"Look, if it's about the thing I asked you to look into on her behalf, you can just tell me-"

"No, it's not that. It's something else." Itori said a little too quickly. Uta narrowed his eyes critically at her from behind his shades, "Oh?"

"You wouldn't understand it. It's a...It's a woman thing." Itori said sensing his suspicion. Uta had known Itori for a long time, long enough to know when she was lying - something she was doing now. Uta rested his chin on his palm, resigning himself to wait and see what was going to happen instead of interrogating Itori into telling him; it would be far more interesting that way.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." he said already starting to formulate a plan to get Emily to Helter Skelter.

April 7th 7:10am

"I usually ask Uta to look after her but since he's the one dragging me to Itori's tonight and I don't really want to take her with me..." Emily said cradling her phone in the crook of her neck while she finished getting ready for school.

"Normally I would, but I've got food to pick up tonight." Renji said on the other side, "I can ask Yoshimura to babysit her for a little while until I get back if you like?"

"Thanks, that would be great." she replied starting to feel a little less stressed.

"It's okay. I'll text you later." Once again he hung up before Emily had a chance to say anything. She smiled to herself; Uta and Renji were totally opposite, it was funny how they could be best friends. Opposite sides of the same coin.

Quickly checking her appearance once more, Emily grabbed her bag, said goodbye to Chou and made her way to the train station. She stood amongst the passengers, her headphones in and using Kradness'* voice to drown out the world, watching as the scenery whizzed past them in a blur of colour. The train stopped at the next station, passengers shuffled off and on in a repetitive cycle. Yet something caught her eye. Or rather someone. A strange looking person was sitting on one of the few benches, swinging their legs back and forth. From this distance, Emily couldn't be sure whether it was a boy or a girl, but they had messy white hair and wore a white button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to their elbows, and black dress pants stopping just under their knees. Almost as if they sensed Emily's gaze, the person looked up at her, a massive grin stretching across their fine features. The train jolted, signalling it was getting ready to move again just as the person waved. Emily continued to stare at the strange person unsure on what to do - should she wave back or were they waving to someone else? How odd. The train slowly rolled forward, leaving the person, still grinning, behind. By the time she got to school, Emily had already forgotten about the weird person at the train station.

She was in Biology when her phone buzzed signalling a text message. Placing the sleek black touch screen on her lap, she tapped it once and slid the circle to the side, highlighting the text app. It was from Renji;

_Manager says yes. When are you going to HS?_

Glancing up once to check what her teacher was doing, Emily quickly began typing her response;

_In class. U says 7.30._

It wasn't until lunch when Renji texted her back asking why she was going so early.

_He said he had stuff to do and is too lazy to come back to 20th then go to 14th._

_Makes sense. I'll pick her up at 7pm then._

"Who're you texting?" Chloe asked cutely as she peered over Emily's should, "Aw, no name." Emily locked her phone and slid it back into her pocket,

"It's just a work mate." Emily lied with a shrug trying to play it off like no big deal. Chloe pursed her lips and the sense of dread grew in Emily's stomach; she knew that look. Chloe was going to pester her for more details.

"So what was it about?" she asked using her big puppy dog eyes. Emily picked at her salad and tried to think of something that would make sense, "Um, advice about dating."

"Aw! How cute!" Chloe squealed, clasping her hands tightly together.

"What is?" Both Chloe and Emily looked up as Toshio sat down beside them. Even though she saw him almost every day, she was still astonished at how much he had changed. His long hair was shorter now, but he was still able to put it in a small pony tail and he was bulking up too. He caught her looking at him and gave a half smile, taking her hand in his.

"Emily's playing match maker." Chloe said taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Oh? So you're finally getting Chloe a date?" Toshio teased earning a brief scowl from Chloe that suddenly turned into a hopeful grin,

"Actually, could you? Do you have any cute work mates?"

Emily fidgeted with her fork, there were some cute guys who worked with her. They were older and in college but they were nice, she just didn't know if they had girlfriends or not.

"Um, I can try I guess." she said quietly. Chloe cheered with glee and the subject of Emily's text messages was soon forgotten amidst the happy chatter of her friend.

6:35pm

Emily was in her bathroom brushing her hair and listening to Chou complain about having to go to Anteiku for a while.

"But why can't I go with you and Onii-san?" she whined while bouncing up and down on Emily's bed. Emily sighed and headed to her wardrobe to dig through clothes, "Because I'm not sure what Uta has to do before going to Helter Skelter, and I don't want you hanging around that place anyway."

"I've been there before, remember." Chou argued. Emily pulled out a light purple jumper with a white bunny face and ears on the hood. It wasn't particularly cold out but the hood concealed her features without having to wear a mask.

"That was during the day, Chou. It's different at night. Besides, I would feel much better knowing you were in a safe place than out in the streets with us." Emily said to the young girl and crouched before her, "If anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do."

Chou seemed to process what Emily had said and although she still didn't like having to go to a place she didn't know with people she'd never met, she stopped sulking and agreed.

"Do you think that Onii-san with the eye patch will be there?" she asked as Emily slid on her jumper and zipped it up.

"Kaneki-san? Hmm, it's possible I guess."

Renji arrived right on 7pm and, though she was hesitant and reluctant, Chou left with him soon after. Emily was alone in her home once again. She sat on the couch and listened to the game show absently while playing with her phone. She'd just gotten through another level of Puzzle and Dragons when her doorbell buzzed again. Switching off the television, Emily slipped on her shoes and opened the door. Uta was leaning against the landing rail casually and gazing at something below them.

"So what is it you have to do?" she asked him as they walked down to the street, flipping her hood up to shadow her face in the process.

"Delivery." he replied simply and held up the brown paper bag in his right hand, "And I thought we could kill some time by getting dinner. Have you eaten?"

"Dinner? What do you mean by that?" she asked skeptically. Uta half grinned, "I mean, you and I go to some place, you order something to eat and I'll watch you." Emily gave him an unsure look,

"What are you really up to?" she asked him. Uta sighed, knowing that there was no escape from the truth. Uta sat down on the train and waited for Emily to do the same before he replied,

"The truth is I kind of want to pretend to be a real family tonight. You know, ask how you're doing at school and about your friends, relationships and stuff." he said resting his head against he back of the seat.

"You're bored, aren't you?" Emily asked, nudging him in the arm. Truthfully she was touched that he would even suggest such a thing in the first place, she'd never had have a _normal_ conversation with him or Renji as they always knew what was going on with her.

Uta chuckled, "A little bit."

They indulged in small talk until they reached their destination in the 22nd Ward where Uta met with his customer, delivered the mask and then they were back on the train headed towards the 14th. The two walked the streets while Emily decided what she wanted to eat. Eventually she decided on an Italian restaurant called Trattoria Il Fornello**. Since it was a Tuesday, the restaurant was had barely any costumers and that suited Uta and Emily fine. Less people to pay attention to them.

11:15pm

Helter Skelter was practically empty by the time Emily and Uta arrived, only three other patrons were left sitting at the bar drinking away their sorrows. Fortunately, the three of them were Ghouls. Each looked up as soon as Emily walked in, smelling a human in their midst. But after a sharp glare from Uta, they quickly delved back into their own worlds. Itori motioned for them to take a seat at the far end of the bar, away from prying ears. Emily dropped her hood and sat down.

"So, she's here." Uta said as Itori leaned against the bar top and poured him a drink, "What was your important news."

"U-chan, I told you it was girl stuff." Itori chastised, "Shoo for a minute." Uta grumbled to himself before standing,

"You have five minutes." he told the female bartender before stalking off down towards the other people to strike up conversation, leaving Emily at Itori's mercy.

"Uta said it wasn't about the thing I asked him to uncover, so what is it?" Emily asked in a low voice, leaning forward.

"It's about Ayato." Itori replied just as quietly, Emily froze, "There's been rumours going around that he's-"

"Stop, Itori-san." Emily said holding her hand up, "I appreciate you keeping tabs on what he's doing, but it doesn't concern me."

"I know, I know. Look, some _people_ who know him came in here the other night, he's been moving around a lot lately, jumping from Ward to Ward, there's a possibility he may even go back to the 20th. I'm telling you because I know you and I know him and I know how protective of you U-chan and Ren-chan are; stay away from him. Whatever he's into now is dangerous, don't get mixed up in it." Itori said clutching Emily's hands tightly. Itori and Emily had never been close, they were acquaintances at most and that was only via Renji and Uta (mainly Uta). But seeing her like this, serious and freely divulging information without wanting anything in return, made Emily believe that whatever she'd heard was severe. Emily nodded slowly, "I won't. I don't have any intentions of seeing Ayato again anyway."

"Good." Itori let Emily's hands go and stood up straight, "Now that's out of the way, I do actually have some useful information regarding that particular thing U-chan asked me to look into for you."

"Time's up." Uta said strolling casually back over to the two women, sipping his drink as he went, "Are you done?"

"Yeah, I was about to tell Emi-chan about the recent discovery I made." Itori said with a sly, confident smile.

"Oh?" Uta asked arching a fine eyebrow and sitting back on his stool, "Proceed."

"Well, I finally found someone who was willing to investigate the mysterious force hanging around your house." Itori said, "They reported in yesterday. It's most definitely a Ghoul and a powerful one at that."

Emily frowned, it didn't make any sense. There were no Ghouls around her area except Chou. "That doesn't make sense." she said softly.

"Mm," Uta agreed, "We would have been able to tell."

"Ah, here's the kicker - it can hide itself." Itori told them, "That's why none of us have been able to smell it. It was only by chance that my guy managed to find traces." Emily was quiet, so Ayato had been right. There was a Ghoul lurking around her father's old territory, and it was strong. Stronger than anything Emily had ever seen. This could be very problematic. Yet the number of deaths in her area hadn't raised dramatically and aside from that one incident, she never felt threatened. This whole thing was getting weird.

"Excuse me." Emily said sliding down off the stool, she needed to gather her thoughts.

11:30pm

"Excuse me" Emily said as she slid down off her stool. She looked pale and very confused. Uta wondered whether it was the news that there was a Ghoul hanging around, or whether it had to do with what Itori had told her before. Once she was out of ear shot, he leaned his elbow on the bar and rested his cheek against his palm,

"So, what really happened?"

"My guy found him." Itori said, "Or rather, he found my guy."

"And?" Uta asked keeping his eyes glued on the female bathroom door for signs of activity.

"He said to stop digging around." She replied pouring herself a drink, "The guy's over there if you want to interrogate him." Uta shook his head,

"Nah, I figured that would happen."

"If you knew it would happen, why'd you tell me to make him go?" Itori grumbled in annoyance. Uta's crimson gaze slid to the red-headed woman,

"Two reasons." he said holding up two fingers, "The first is for appearances. Emily has to believe you're doing your best to look into this seriously."

"And the second?" she asked curiously. Uta grinned devilishly,

"Because it's fun."

"What's fun?" Emily's voice was light and too care-free. She was worried definitely worried about something but didn't want to show it. He gazed down at her curiously; as far as humans went, Emily was fascinating to him. Even what she called mundane was fun in his opinion. Perhaps it was because he'd never met a human raised by a Ghoul before, or maybe it was just purely her personality that he found so interesting. She'd been a happy child, her smile brighter than the sun, but she'd lost something when her mother died. Part of her light had died. Of course that was a natural response in anyone, but after the incident with her father it was like she'd become a complete other person.

There were three sides to Emily - The Emily she showed most people; the sweet, caring, nice girl. Then there was the Emily behind the mask; numb, sad and lost. Finally there was the third Emily, the real Emily. Not even Uta knew what she looked like anymore. But she was still there. He'd seen a glimmer of her a year ago when she'd walked into his shop. That night he was finally able to craft her the perfect mask. It was something that fit her perfectly - a porcelain doll with lips the colour of her hair and a spattering of cracks painted in various places around the face. It depicted his vision of her; a beautiful, broken doll.

He leaned over and placed a long, slender finger under her chin, "Secret." he told her. Emily pouted, "You're mean."

Uta smiled at the young girl and dropped his hand from her, "Yep." he agreed as he stood, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I still have to pick up Chou from Anteiku." Emily said pulling her bunny hood back on and thrusting her fists into the pockets.

"Thanks for your help, Itori-san." Emily added. Itori waved her hand dismissively,

"It's fine." she said giving Uta a quick stern look. Emily began walking towards the exit,

"You'll get your treat later." he told Itori before following the human girl like a guard dog protecting its master. He suspected he was going to recieve a rather unpleasant phone call later. Still, it couldn't be helped, _he_ should have known by now that nothing was ever going to go to plan if Uta was involved directly. But maybe that's what _he_ was counting on...

* * *

><p>*Kradness - A Japanese utaite. Youtube him if you haven't already (he does an amazing cover of Unravel).<p>

**Trattoria Il Fornello - actual Italian restaurant in Nakano, Tokyo.


	8. Chapter 8

April 17, 4:00pm

Emily was leaning against the trolly full of books as her co-worker, Daichi, restocked the shelves. Daichi was in his second year at collage studying medicine and though he looked like the stereotypical thug, tattoos down his arms, piercings and often slicked his dark hair back so he looked like a greaser from a 1950s movie, he was soft spoken and loved nothing more than relaxing on his couch with his cat reading a good book.

After Toshio had unintentionally suggested that Emily should hook Chloe up with one of her workmates, Chloe had been pestering her about it any chance she got. Eventually, getting fed up with it, Emily had told her friend to come into work and case the staff. Emily would say who was taken and who wasn't. Daichi had been working the first day Chloe set foot in the store and her heart had been set on him instantly. Emily just hadn't found the right time to ask him. Until now.

"Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow night?" she asked not meeting his gaze. Daichi turned back to the trolley and grabbed another handful of books.

"Not really, someone need a shift covered?"

Emily shook her head, "Actually...I feel weird even asking this, but my friend Chloe-"

"The blonde bob-cut girl who comes in every now and then?" he asked interrupting her. Emily nodded,

"Well she kind of likes you-"

"And wants you to introduce her?" he interrupted again.

"Yeah..."

"Oh cool. Actually I was going to ask you to introduce me to her the next time she came in. She's pretty cute and her Japanese is adorable." Daichi replied all the while still restocking the shelves and hardly seeming flustered at all. Emily was stupefied, she really hadn't expected her conversation with Daichi to go this smooth or this well. She barely had to put any effort into it at all. Still, it was good that he was interested in Chloe.

She dropped her gaze to the small amount of scattered books left to be sorted feel relieved for more than one reason. There were three numbers in her phone that had no names, three numbers she'd memorized for the longest time. Three numbers that would get her in trouble and for that reason she deleted messages and calls and never named them. If she had put Renji's name in her contacts, Chloe would have known that something was up and Emily wouldn't have been able to play it off as a co-worker. Chloe wouldn't have come into the book store and this conversation with Daichi never would have happened. Perhaps happiness wasn't as far out of reach as she'd led herself to believe.

6:00pm

Emily closed the door to her apartment and leaned against it. Her house was dark and empty like it had been the past few days. Uta had found somewhere for Chou to live safely, it had been in her best interest but saying goodbye to the little girl was harder than Emily had thought. She'd grown attached to her and it was nice having her around.

With a sigh, she flicked on the lights and went to the kitchen, texting Chloe as she went to tell her the good news: she'd invited Daichi to have lunch with them tomorrow. Emily knew Chloe would be overjoyed, and her theories were confirmed whilst she was halfway through heating up a frozen meal when she called.

"Oh my god!" Chloe exclaimed happily, "What am I going to wear?! I have nothing!"

"Calm down." Emily said as a smile graced her lips unintentionally, "I'm sure you'll look good in whatever you decide to wear."

"Not all of us can be like you, Emily." Chloe teased, "You could wear sweats and still look beautiful. Hey, what if we had a sleep over?"

"A what?"

"You know, it's a thing that girls do. I could stay the night and we can eat junk food, watch romantic comedies and talk about boys. Please, please, please?" Chloe begged putting on her childish voice. Emily sighed again, it was true that since Chou left she'd been feeling a little lonely and she didn't think there would be any kind of drama involving Ghouls tonight... "You know what, let's do it."

"Yay! I'll be there in half an hour! Buh-byeee~!" Chloe sang until the phone clicked and fell silent. A sleep over? She'd read about things like that in books and seen them on dramas but she'd never had or been part of one. Chloe was her only female friend and Emily had always been worried that something bad would happen if she were to stay over for an extended period of time. But there was a lot of drama happening in her life right now, perhaps a little fun wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

Just like she'd said, Chloe arrived half an hour later with enough baggage to stay for a month. As it turned out it was mostly snacks and makeup she'd brought with her. How someone could own so much stuff was astonishing to Emily.

At first they settled in with dinner and some American movie about a guy getting over his ex by going on holiday. Emily didn't quite understand the appeal of it, but she did laugh at certain things and Chloe seemed to enjoy it so it was fine by her. Next, she helped her friend pick an outfit for lunch and Chloe begged Emily to do her makeup.

They were into the second movie of the night when Emily's intrest was piqued. She'd just placed a bowl of popcorn on the table for herself and Chloe when one of the main character's said something utterly profound. A few words that made Emily stop what she was doing and just stare at the screen, a declaration that struck her very core.

_I wish I knew how to quit you._

These two people, characters of a fictional story had just summed up her entire range of emotions for Ayato. They had been forced together by an unexpected event, learned things about themselves and each other and as a result developed crazy, conflicting and very confusing feelings for each other. There was love there, but a love that was wrong and therefore denied. It invigorated and destroyed them. It was surreal to watch two characters go through the same thing that she had felt and experienced. Watching their pain brought back her own, and along with it a deep longing that she thought she'd abandoned.

She missed him. She missed his rude attitude, his bored expression and imposing air. She missed his cold eyes and messy, gloriously soft hair and how it covered his face when he slept. She missed the exhilaration she felt around him, known that he was unpredictable and dangerous yet she felt overwhelmingly safe with him.

"Emily?" Chloe's voice pulled her out of her dark and gloomy state. The movie had been paused and Chloe was looking at her with worried, big eyes, "You're crying..." Emily touched her cheek gingerly, sure enough it was wet. It had only been one tear but it was enough to shock her. She hadn't cried in a long time, not since her father...

"What's wrong? You can tell me, you know." Chloe asked and gently patted Emily's hand. What should she say, what _could _ she say? There was no way Chloe was just going to let this slide if Emily said she was fine but what else could she do? Telling the truth was out of the question, but so was lying. Emily groaned and put her head in her hands; she was in this situation again. She hated it, she hated having to keep so many secrets from her friends.

"Emily?" Chloe asked against placing her hand tenderly on the other girl's back, "It's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay."

"No it's not." Emily muttered before she could stop herself. She just wanted to tell someone, to talk about her feelings without them forcing their own opinions onto her. She opened her eyes and gazed down at the dark floor. Maybe she could. She didn't have to give Chloe names or tell her specific details, just enough information.

"Okay, but promise you won't tell anyone...especially not Toshio." Emily said softly, begging her friend with her eyes. Chloe nodded once and turned fully to face Emily, folding her legs beneath her and held up three fingers in the Scout salute.

"I promise, I won't tell anyone." she said earnestly, "Tell me."

"A long time ago, when my parents were still around, Dad had these friends we'd visit. They had two kids around my age so I'd play with them from time to time. I ran into the son a while back and we, uh, we got talking." Emily sighed, "This is stupid."

"No, no it's not. Keep going, Emily." Chloe said taking Emily's hands, "Please?"

"I haven't told anyone this before but that boy, he was...I guess you could say he was my first crush and when I saw him again everything I thought I'd forgotten, all the feelings I thought I'd stopped feeling came back."

"Do you still see him?" Chloe asked tilting her head to the side curiously. Emily shook her head,

"No, we don't even talk anymore. He, um, he got mixed up with the wrong people. I don't even know where he is now." she replied staring at her knees, "He was always kind of distant and closed off but when I saw him again it was like he'd become a totally different person, colder, angrier. I didn't even recognize him at first."

"Did he..." Chloe looked as though she wanted to ask something important but didn't know how to word it delicately, "Did he try anything? Like hurt you or something?" He had. Ayato had tried to take a bite out of her twice. Intentional or not, he had tried.

"No." But she couldn't tell Chloe that, "Actually he protected me." Chloe's eyebrows shot up,

"What? Protected you? From who? From what?" she queried in a flurry. Emily raised her hands to calm her friend,

"It was nothing serious. Just some drunk guy when I was walking home." she lied with a shrug, "After that we went out separate ways again. It's just when that guy said '_I wish I knew how to quit you_'...It's similar to how I felt...feel."

"Ah, I get why you made me promise not to tell Toshio. You know this kind of thing is normal for girls. I liked more than one guy at one time before. They're usually opposite kinds of people two, like Toshi is probably the sweetest guy in Tokyo if not the nation and from what you've told me about this other guy, he's more the rebellious type. Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen." Chloe said, "But you know what, the good guy always wins."

"What if I'm not sure who the good guy is?"

Chloe's blonde brows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Emily withdrew her hands from her friend and tugged at her platted hair, "Well, I always thought of good and bad being relative terms. A matter of perspective, you know? Like the CCG and Ghouls for example. The CCG are _good_ in our perspective, but to Ghouls they're _bad_." she shifted her gaze again from Chloe to the paused TV screen, "What if what I perceive as good is actually bad?"

"Are you saying Toshi is...bad?" Chloe asked trying to understand what Emily was saying. Emily faced her friend again,

"What? No." she said instantaneously, "I love Toshi, I really do. I honestly don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for him, and you, by my side these past few years. But..."

"But you still love this guy too, right?" Chloe asked nodding understandingly. Emily frowned; she'd told Chloe the truth about her dad taking her to Anteiku when she was little. Ayato had always interested her even though he was so distant. Touka had said jokingly once that Ayato was afraid of Emily because she was a human. So she'd tried her very best to seem non-threatening towards him, always asking where he was and if he wanted to play. Then eventually, it became more than ritual. She wanted to play with him, to speak to him. He became her obsession in a way. And so they had practically invented a game, Emily would seek him out on purpose and he'd find new places to hide and watch her and Touka in secret. Even when her father stopped taking her to Anteiku, she'd find an excuse to go just to see Ayato. She'd caught glimpses of him from time to time but their gazes never met once. Thinking back on those times, she realized that it wasn't just curiosity that kept her going to find him. She'd liked him.

And she loved him still.

"I'm sorry about telling you all this." she said softly, "It's stupid."

"Don't be, I'm glad you're talking to me." Chloe replied, "This is what sleep overs are about anyway."

Emily smiled at her friend, "If you say so, but I just mean it's stupid because I'm never going to see him again so there's no point to any of these things I'm feeling."

"How can you be so sure you're never going to see him again? Who knows, you could see him tomorrow or next week or a few months from now." Chloe grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Aren't you supposed to be steering me away from that possibility?"

"I'm your friend, I'm supposed to help you find the road that will lead to happiness. As long as you're happy, that's all I care about."

April 18, 12:15pm

Emily felt they eyes of every Ghoul in the entire cafe watching her closely. She'd been to Anteiku as a customer before, but never with two others belonging to CCG families. Sure Chloe was far too preoccupied in making sure she looked perfect for Daichi, and trying not to throw up from nerves, and Toshio would be just as oblivious to scrutinize the employees and customers too much if at all. That didn't matter though, Emily could tell from the heated glare she was receiving from Touka that it didn't. She sighed and stirred her coffee some more.

"Are you sure you told him the right place?" Chloe asked checking the time on her phone for the seventeenth time.

"Yeah, he knows. It's not even 12:30 yet." Emily replied as she took a sip. As always, Anteiku's coffee was amazing. She glanced around, avoiding Touka's gaze, at the staff, customers and decor. Her sight landed on a familiar face behind the counter with Koma.

"Excuse me for a moment." she said standing up and wandering over. Koma looked up and smiled at her instantly,

"Emily-san, I didn't see you sitting there. Not here to see the Manager today?" he asked with a warm smile, making the eye-patch wearing boy look up from what he was doing.

"Not today." she replied, "How are you doing, Kaneki-san?"

"Oh, um, fine. Thanks. I still can't make coffee as good as the Manager but at least I know what I'm doing now." he replied with that awkward smile.

"Not to worry, Kaneki-kun, not even I, the Dev-"

"Koma-san! Two Americanos over here please!" a customer called at just the right time.

"Coming up!" Koma set about making the coffees, leaving Kaneki and Emily alone briefly.

"So are you here with friends?" he asked curiously. Emily nodded, "A date actually." She stood to the side, clearing the view to her friends and ignored the obvious flinch from Kaneki when she said _date_. Yoshimura had told her about what happened to him, how a simple date had turned into a nightmare.

He frowned slightly, "Don't you usually need an even number for a date?"

"We're one short at the moment, he should be here in a few minutes though." she replied casually, "So when I asked you how you were doing, I meant, you know." she tapped just underneath her left eye. "I feel like I don't ask you enough when I come here."

He shook his head, "It's like anything, good days and bad days. Sometimes I wake up thinking it was all just a bad dream, sometimes I'm fine with it. Working here really helps too."

"Well, good." she said just as the door opened. Glancing up she saw Daichi walk in, running his hand through his slicked back dark hair, "Ah, I gotta go. But hey, look, if you ever need to talk or whatever just come by. My door's always open."

"Thanks, Emily-chan." he replied scratching the back of head cutely. Emily smiled once more at him and went back to join her friends just as Daichi reached their table.

"Hey man." Emily greeted him easily, "Chloe, this is Kato Daichi, he works at the bookstore with me. Daichi, my friend Chloe Walker." She took her seat next to Toshio and watched as Daichi and Chloe greeted each other.

"Who were you talking to?" Toshio asked quietly as the other two talked amongst themselves briefly.

"Hmm?" Emily looked up at him, "Oh, I know him from the book store."

"Ahh." he replied with a glance over to where Kaneki was making another coffee for someone, "He looks the type. Is he okay?"

"The eye patch?" she asked guessing what he was talking about. Toshio nodded, "He was in an accident a little while ago but he's doing fine now."

"Poor guy. He seems like the type to have a lot of bad luck." Toshio said sympathetically. Emily gazed at her boyfriend as his attention was stolen by Daichi introducing himself. Toshio was really intuitive and a fantastic judge of character; those two factors were part of why he passed the aptitude test with flying colours. He was a natural and that would make him a dangerous Investigator some day.

"Should we order?" Daichi asked catching Emily's attention. She cleared her thoughts, now wasn't the time to be thinking of the future. There would be plenty of time to do that when she wasn't on a date.

10:45pm

Yomo Renji was relaxing in his home with a freshly poured cup of coffee thinking about how troublesome that Hamada boy was getting. He'd heard from both Uta and Yoshimura that his father had made him take the standard aptitude test that all potential students of the CCG Academy take and had gotten one of the highest scores on record, allegedly without even trying. Then today, he had been in Anteiku with Emily and two others. A double date, Emily had told him. But when he'd asked who chose the venue she was reluctant to admit it had been him. It didn't matter if Emily claimed he wasn't interested in being an Investigator, Hamada Toshio was a problem.

A low buzzing on the wooden table caught his attention, the number that flashed on the screen wasn't in his contacts, but he knew it. That's really all Renji needed tonight, a phone call from _him_.

"Yomo-kun, good evening." the speaker said in a low, muffled voice. Renji frowned at nothing,

"Something wrong?" he asked curiously. The voice cleared their throat and when they spoke again, their voice was back to normal,

"No, sorry, I was finishing a coffee. I have a question for you." the voice said, "About two weeks ago, a tragic accident occurred on a construction site. A stack of steel beams fell on two young people. The girl allegedly died at the scene and her organs were transplanted into the boy without the consent of her family. You know this story, yes?"

"Yes." Renji replied. Of course he knew. That was a ridiculous question, even for him.

"Am I also correct to assume you know the _real_ story then? That the girl was one of us and that that boy is now a half-breed?" the speaker asked although it wasn't really a question.

"Yes." Renji repeated. The voice 'ahhed' on the other side,

"Of course you do. He was given a place at Anteiku, wasn't he? I saw him there the other day."

"Was that the question you wanted to ask?" Renji queried curiously.

The voice became more serious than before, taking on a lower, darker tone, "No. My question to you is do you have any information on why, or more specifically, _how_ those beams came to fall?"

Renji was silent.

"It's quite possible that it was human error and they simply weren't secured properly." the voice continued unfazed by Renji's lack of reply, "Or, perhaps, it _wasn't_ simply human error. Do you think that maybe there could have been another factor that no one took into account? That Kamishiro Rize wasn't crushed beneath them accidentally but rather _someone_ loosened the beams and _murdered_ her? I guess what I should say I'm asking is that do you have an idea who could possibly be behind such an attack?" The phone clicked off signalling that the person on the other end had hung up. Renji sat frozen at the table, the steam from his coffee rose in misty swirls, his phone cooled against his ear.

_He_ knew.

* * *

><p><strong>This is a little overdue but thank you everyone for reviewing, favouriting and following this story that started out as just a little drabble of angsty unrequited love. It's because of every single one of you that I can continue writing. Once again, thank you. <strong>


	9. Chapter 9

May 10th, 1:44pm

Emily sighed, stretching her arms above her head and fell back against the plastic chair back feeling absolutely drained. Toshio glanced up at her from behind his book and arched an eyebrow,

"What's this? The illustrious Ishihara Emily is tired of studying?" he teased quietly. Emily glared softly at him earning a smirk,

"You try studying for a Bio test and I'll read," she tilted her head to the side to read the Toshio's book's spine, "Dear Kafka. That's Takatsuki Sen's first book, right?"

Toshio nodded, "Yeah, it's my favourite. You really should read his work some time." Emily leaned forward onto her elbow and gave him a smug look.

"What makes you think I haven't?" she asked mysteriously, "I work in a bookstore, Toshi, of course I've read Takatsuki's work. She's got a book signing coming up at work soon actually."

"She?" Toshio dropped his book, the solid thud making several visitors to the library look up in surprise and annoyance.

"Yes, she. Takatsuki Sen is a woman." Emily grinned knowing she'd just rocked Toshio's entire universe. He stared at the open page of his book, looking through it.

"A woman...I didn't even think...Wait, how do you know?" he asked curiously. For someone who was so brilliantly suited to being an Investigator, Toshio could be totally dense at times. It was really quite adorable.

"Book store, remember? She had a book signing last year when her sixth book was released." Emily replied with a shrug, "She's like a machine, releasing a new book in just one year."

"She's something alright." Toshio said in awe then made a face, "I'm still getting used to calling Takatsuki a woman..."

Emily chuckled quietly then decided to continue with her studying. She had a Biology test coming up soon and needed to do well on it. She was, after all, aspiring to be a doctor just like her mother had been. Her mother had taught her certain things, the basic of the basics, and she had been continuing her studies for the past three years but there was still so much she had to learn. Unfortunately for her, books about Ghoul anatomy weren't on the reading list and she doubted they would be in collage either. She'd managed to find one little gem secreted away at her work - a dated medical book about Ghoul anatomy. It was...helpful but old. What she really needed was a Ghoul who was also a doctor. If she could train under someone like that, she'd be able to run Blue Lotus far more effectively. But first, before she could do any of that, she had to finish high school and somehow get a scholarship into a medical school. Easier said than done.

3:00pm

Emily and Toshio were standing outside the library, Toshio was sliding coins into the vending machine nearby after Emily had expressed a dire need for caffeine. Her head was swimming in information and her notepad was practically full. Still she felt like it wasn't enough and that she was missing something.

Toshio handed her a can of coffee and sat down beside her, cracking open the top of his own and taking a sip. He grimaced and held the can in front of his face,

"I don't know how you can ingest this stuff." he said as Emily open her can and took several mouthfuls. She sighed as the bitter liquid soothed the erratic, frazzled beast inside her.

"Because it is the drink of the Gods." she replied nudging his arm gently, "It's the life blood."

"You're delirious." he retorted slinging his arm carelessly around her shoulders and pulling her against his hard chest.

"You'd better get used to it, you know." she told him before taking another drink, "You'll be drinking coffee all the time as an Investigator."

Toshio rolled his eyes, "Uh-huh. Sure."

"No seriously, it's like part of the job description. Must have great physical prowess, analyzing capabilities and be able to drink three liters of coffee per day." she teased earning a chuckle from him, the sound vibrated his chest in the best possible way.

"Three liters, huh? I don't think anyone's body could sustain that kind of intake." he said.

"You'd be surprised." she said knowingly. Ghouls, for one, could drink that amount easily. She knew some who did. They sat in silence for a while just watching people and traffic go past, drinking their coffees and just enjoying each other's company. It was nice. Peaceful.

"Have you heard from Chloe?" Toshio asked suddenly. Emily sat up properly and shook her head,

"No, why?"

"Just asking. I saw Daichi the other day but I felt weird asking him how things were with her." he replied staring down at his can, "We should go see her soon."

"I went by when it happened but her mother said she'd call when she was feeling ready to talk to us." Emily replied sadly. About two weeks ago, Chloe's father had been killed in the 11th Ward. She didn't know the details but Isao had told her that there had been a large number of police and Investigator deaths in the 11th. Rumours of an organization of Ghouls had been floating around and that that particular organization had been the cause of the deaths. Nothing had been confirmed publicly yet and it was all just hearsay. Still, doubts tugged at the back of Emily's mind, doubts of such a thing not existing.

"Hmm, I just thought that she'd talk to you." Toshio sighed thoughtfully. Emily squeezed his hand tenderly,

"She will when she's ready." Emily said but inside she too was worried about Chloe. Losing a parent was one of the most painful experiences, especially in that particular way. Emily knew it would fuel the CCG's hatred of Ghouls and possibly even Chloe's own desire to get even. So as she was on her way home, Emily decided to drop by her friend's house to check on her.

"I can ask her," Chloe's mother said in English; she was from the South and was often really bright and happy, but she looked tired and drained. Even her voice sounded less colourful, "But, Emily hon, I'm not real sure she's up to visits yet."

"I know." Emily replied, still trying to get used to the way her mouth moved when speaking English - heaven knew she didn't do it often, "We're just worried about her."

"Well, alright then. Come on in." she stood to the side to let Emily pass then disappeared down the hall after closing the door. Emily glanced around the house, it seemed darker than usual. Flowers, gifts and cards were stacked messily on the kitchen bench and small round dining table. From the kitchen wafted a smell that resonated deep within Emily; a mother's home cooking. She didn't know what it was other than it smelled sweet but she didn't care, it made her mouth water. It had been a long time since she'd smelt anything so delicious.

A few more minutes passed before Chloe's mother appeared in the hallway again, "She says she'll see you." Emily thanked her and wandered down to her friend's room. Chloe was sitting on her bed, tucked into the corner in what could only be described as a nest of blankets, pillows and toys. Her blonde hair was knotted and messy, her eyes were puffy and red and she really looked nothing like the pretty, blonde ball of energy Emily knew.

"Hey." Chloe croaked, "Sorry I haven't returned your calls or anything."

"Don't be." Emily said pulling over Chloe's computer chair and sitting beside the bed, "You're going through something horrible. It's okay."

Chloe nodded weakly and hugged the giant monkey pillow toy to her chest. The two girls sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Emily watched her friend from time to time, wondering what she was thinking about. Her father most like, the times they spent together, things he'd said and done, their last moments. Emily had. She'd locked herself away for weeks, sleeping all the time, barely eating and not talking to anyone. She'd just spent her time remembering. It hadn't been until she'd met Toshio that she started to feel even remotely normal again. He had been the light leading her out of the darkness of loneliness and both he and Chloe had helped her to realize she wasn't as alone as she'd thought.

Now, she wanted to return the favour to her best friend. But she wouldn't rush her. She would wait until Chloe was ready to face it, but that didn't mean she still couldn't be there for her friend.

"Emily?" Chloe called from behind her mound of soft coloured things startling the other girl.

"Yeah?" Emily replied trying to keep her voice soft and low.

"Does the emptiness ever go away?" Chloe asked feebly. Emily didn't reply for a while, the question had stunned her completely. She had to think of a way to reply with the right words. Chloe poked her head up through her cave and gazed questioningly at her friend.

Emily sighed, "People will tell you that it gets better and time heals all. They're partly true, I guess. But coping mechnizims; surrounding yourself with people, binge eating or drinking, drugs, whatever, they only work for a certain amount of time."

Chloe's blonde brows furrowed as she tried to understand what Emily was saying.

"My answer is no. The emptiness left inside you after a person you love is gone never goes away, it just gets easier to deal with." she said lowering her gaze to stare at the lines in her hands, "But that doesn't mean you can't be happy anymore. The dead only wish for the living to be happy..."

"I know Daddy wouldn't want me to be sad," Chloe said softly, "But I just miss him so much you know? Every day I wake up thinking he's going to walk through the door...But he doesn't and I just don't know how to deal with that."

"I know. It just doesn't seem real, right? Like it's all just a terrible nightmare."

"I just feel...nothing." Chloe admitted burying her face into the monkey again. Emily closed her eyes, she knew exactly what Chloe was going through, she understood ever emotion surging through her. Especially the numbness. That numbness was her closest companion, a shadow that loomed over her and sank deep into her soul. She hated it, but she'd given into it a long time ago and its roots ran deep.

"Let it pass." she advised her friend, "Indulge it for a little while but let it pass. Clinging to that nothing feeling is the worst thing you could do."

"I know." Chloe replied, "Thank you for being with me through this." Emily smiled sadly at her,

"Where else would I be?" she said, "Toshio and I, we'll always be here for you." Chloe's eyes fluttered closed and in a matter of minutes she was asleep again. Emily pulled the blanket up over her then quietly took her leave. Chloe would be alright in time, she wouldn't be the same but she would be alright.

The night was pleasantly cool, a welcome change from the heat of the day. She wondered whether Anteiku would still be open and thought about dropping in for a quick coffee. As she neared the cafe front, she saw Renji stepping out onto the street.

"Hey." she called to him making him half turn towards her. The gentle breeze tugged softly at his silver hair,

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. Emily gestured vaguely in the direction she'd just come,

"Visiting Chloe." she replied. Renji's cool grey eyes flickered in acknowledgement.

"I heard." was all he said. Emily realized then just what kind of an awkward situation Renji was in. One less Investigator in the world was a good thing for Ghouls, but this particular Investigator was the father of one of her friends. So how should he feel?

"You don't have to be sympathetic. It's okay." she told him, "How's everything going?"

Despite keeping his usual stony calm, Renji seemed slightly relieved at the subject change. He looked up to the sky and took in a deep breath, "It smells like trouble is coming. Be careful, Emily."

She watched as he climbed into his car and drove away. Trouble, huh? When wasn't there trouble? Having decided against the coffee, Emily continued on her way back home all the while thinking about Chloe and what Renji had said. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she never noticed the lone being standing atop the office building adjacent her apartment complex, messy hair blowing gently in the night air, watching her with hands shoved deep into his pockets, scowling at the darkness.

Trouble was already there.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I know the Aogiri raid takes place in December but I changed it to fit in with this timeline of events.**

* * *

><p><span>May 29th, 2:45pm<span>

"Okita is buried at the Senshoji Temple in the 3rd Ward and his grave only open to the public once a year in June." Emily finished without looking at the paper she held in her hands but instead gazing out at the students in her class. She was in Japanese History and they had been given assignments to write reports on famous historical figures and read them aloud. Emily had chosen to do hers on a swordsman from the Bakumatsu named Okita Souji.

"Thank you Ishihara-san." her teacher said signalling her to sit down and then called the next name on his list. Emily returned to her seat and listened quietly to the rest of the speeches. She felt a vibration against her leg just as her classmate finished his report. Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she tapped the screen. It was a text from Uta.

_See me._ _U_.

Emily frowned and let the screen go black. She had only seen him the day before when she went to see how Chou was doing, everything had seemed normal or as normal as things were when it came to Uta. Perhaps Itori had discovered some new information or maybe something had happened to Chou? It sounded too serious, too urgent to be just a request for a visit. Pursing her lips, she unlocked her phone and began typing her reply.

_I have work till 7._

Uta's reply was instantaneous.

_Now._

Something was definitely up. Quickly packing up her stuff, Emily shoved her phone back into her pocket, cursed Uta silently, and quietly snuck over to her teacher standing at the back of the room observing each display of public speaking.

"Sir, I have to leave." she whispered so not to disturb the girl reading her report. Her teacher, a young man in his early 30's, arched a thick, dark eyebrow questioningly.

"Why might that be?" he asked just as softly.

"I have to go to work." she lied praying that he would just believe her and let her go. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously but miraculously agreed to let her leave early. Emily sent up a prayer to any one who would listen as she half-walked half-jogged out of the school grounds and towards the train station.

HySy was dark and empty when she arrived but it was unlocked so Uta, or someone he trusted, was there somewhere. There was no reply when she called out so she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

"Where are you?" she asked when the other side of the line picked up.

"Right here." Uta replied walking out from the back room. He was shirtless beneath his favourite black wrap sweater, his harem pants hung low on his waist and he was barefoot. It had obviously been a quiet day. Uta hung up and dropped his phone into his pants pocket.

"What was so important that I had to leave school early?" Emily asked slightly peeved as she locked her phone again and crossed the black and white tiled floor towards the elder male. Uta didn't reply but instead just gazed at her owlishly.

"Is that a trick question?" he asked after a moment of silence. Emily frowned at him,

"Are you being deliberately obtuse again?" she replied crossing her arms. Uta blinked once, twice, a third time. Bringing up the text message she held her phone out to him, "You didn't send this?"

Uta leaned down and gazed curiously at the screen and the message he had supposedly sent. "No? That's definitely my number but I didn't send that."

"That's weird. Do you think it could have been Itori?" Emily asked suddenly getting an uneasy feeling. Uta shook his head,

"I haven't seen her all day." he confessed, "The only people I've seen were the few customers who came in." Emily started pacing back and fourth trying to think of any kind of possibility that made a lick of sense. Why would someone text her pretending to be Uta to get her to come to HySy? Itori she could understand, but Uta had said he hadn't seen her. Unless he was lying. But then why would he lie?

"Are you sure there wasn't anyone else here?" Emily asked desperately clutching at straws. To anyone else it would seem like she was getting flustered over nothing. But someone had somehow managed to text her off Uta's phone without his knowledge - as far as she could tell - and that meant they knew Emily's mobile number since Uta didn't save it under her name. That was a big deal. That could possibly put everything she'd worked towards in major jeopardy.

"No one aside from..." Uta trailed off abruptly and Emily spun around to face him, quick to jump on his silence.

"Aside from?" she almost demanded. Uta looked as though he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar for the briefest of seconds before his features resumed their usual neutral expression.

"Customers." he replied easily. Emily gazed up at him suspiciously and for the first time had the feeling that he was keeping something from her, more than just his usual antics. Something big. Something she really wasn't supposed to know about.

Uta rarely talked about his plans with her, he'd said once that it was for her own safety and peace of mind and had admitted that if she knew, she'd definitely look at him differently. That was something he couldn't bare, he'd said. So he would keep his activities to himself and tell her not to worry or that it was a secret and she'd leave it at that. She trusted Uta, she trusted him with more than just her life. He was family. She wanted to trust him now too, but there was a small cloud of doubt in the back of her mind that maybe, just this once, he'd actually lied to her and if that was really the case then what was it he was protecting?

7:20pm

"Again, I'm really sorry I was late. It won't happen again, I promise." Emily said for the eleventh time since her shift started two hours ago. Her boss waved her hand and smiled with bright red lips,

"Emily, I'm serious, don't worry about it. I know that sometimes classes or club activities run late after school ends. Besides, it's a book store not a multi-billion dollar corporation. Relax and go home already."

Emily apologized once more, earning a kind but stern look from her boss, then grabbed her bag and left. She had spent too much time at Uta's and missed the train so she'd been half an hour late to work, that on top of being stressed out about who managed to text her off Uta's phone and the possibility of him lying to her made her distracted. Her boss had just passed it off as school stress, something Emily was thankful for.

She'd just opened her front door when her phone rang. Groaning and rolling her eyes she pulled it from her back and slid the ringing phone icon across to the green circle.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Em." It was Chloe. She sounded more like herself than she had in the past few weeks after her father's death. Emily was glad but she still felt for her friend. She knew Chloe was just trying to be happy for everyone else and so people would stop asking if she was okay.

Emily shouldered the door closed and dropped her bag on the floor, "What's up?" she asked while removing her shoes.

"Actually, I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow? My grandparents are driving me insane and I need to escape." Chloe complained and as if on cue Emily heard the elderly couple in the background yelling about how they couldn't understand anything on TV.

"Sorry, Chloe, I've got some errands to run tomorrow and then work in the afternoon. But I'm free all day Sunday?" she replied apologetically. Chloe didn't hesitate,

"Sunday is great!" Emily could hear the relief in her voice, "Do you know if Toshi is free tomorrow?"

"I'm fairly sure he's not doing anything." she replied walking over to the kitchen and opening the fridge. It was practically empty, only a carton of milk and some grapes were inside. Emily pursed her lips, she should have grabbed something on the way home.

"Okay, I'll give him a call." Chloe said and then fell silent. Emily would have wondered if she'd hung up but the slow breathing on the line suggested she was still there. Just as Emily was about to ask if there was anything else Chloe needed, her friend spoke, "Thank you, by the way, for everything. You're a real good friend, you know?"

"You don't have to thank me." Emily said suddenly becoming awkward with the situation.

"I do. I don't have many friends, not ones like you anyway." Chloe continued and with each new praise her friend bestowed on her, Emily's guilt grew deeper and the wretched feeling inside her threatened to suffocate her, "You've done all this amazing stuff for me, setting me up with Daichi, helping me through this dark time in my life, listening to me talk about silly girl things...You're my best friend, Em. Thank you for putting up with me." The phone clicked silent signalling Chloe had hung up. Emily stood staring at her empty fridge, her phone still against her ear and feeling as though she wanted to cry. What would Chloe say if she knew Emily had been lying to her the entire time she'd known her? That the father that she loved so much had been killed by people Emily had spent her life helping and that Emily's own father was also one of those people?

She didn't have to guess; Chloe, Toshio...every human she knew would hate her. They would see it as a betrayal of her own kind. Helping creatures who kill and devour humankind - what kind of human did that make her?

A new thought shuddered through her. Her phone clattered too noisily in the silence onto the wooden floor as it slipped from her hand. Emily stared wide eyed at the yellow light glaring harshly back at her. The cool air from the refrigerator was like the iron gauntlet of truth slapping her in the face and demanding a duel to the death. This painful, terrifying thought that had stabbed and twisted itself into the depths of her mind, this thought that sprouted barbs and clung relentlessly to her was; What if they found out about Ayato? What if Chloe ever connected the dots and realized that Emily's childhood crush, the boy she still harbored strong feelings towards, was in fact a Ghoul?

Emily sank to her knees in front of the fridge under the weight of all the unanswered questions piling slowly upon her shoulders. She had known her two lives were slowly melding together, but she had hoped there would be a little more time for her to decide what path to take. Perhaps she was just being paranoid? Maybe she didn't have anything to worry about at all? Or was that just naivety speaking? She'd had no house guests, injured or on the run, since Chou. There had been no reports from anywhere of Ghouls being randomly attacked in her area. The CCG were focused on the problems unfolding within the 11th Ward. She was passing her classes, she had a caring and wonderful boyfriend, a best friend she could actually tell some secrets to, and her friends knew nothing of her secret life. And yet in the pit of her stomach doubt and fear knotted like thick brambles, poking and snagging, determined to not let go. Renji's words the other night had only made her fears grow worse and now Uta's strange behavior...

Something bad was coming. Something terrible that threatened her delicate balanced life. Something, that if allowed to proceed, could destroy everything she and her parents had worked so hard for and Emily would be powerless to stop it. What was her life coming to?

May 30th, 12:42

Ayato stared at the door he hadn't seen in over a year. Mixed feelings churned in his stomach, perhaps it was a good thing the apartment was empty. It would have been annoying if she were home, after all he wasn't in this stupid place for pleasure. He was supposed to be looking for his idiot underling and the female Ghoul Tatara was looking for. Seeing this particular person would delay that and make him second guess himself again. Especially since he was going to Anteiku. He couldn't afford to have her clouding his mind again. Not after the last time. Hell, he couldn't let anyone even know about her.

He'd been trying to avoid her for a year but every time he closed his eyes, he saw her staring at him disapprovingly like she knew he was better than this. It pissed him off. More than once he'd snuck out to the 20th Ward, every intention of ridding himself of her for good but finding that he was totally unable to. He could easily kill hundreds of humans in one night; men, women, children. It didn't matter to him. But her? He just couldn't kill her. He doubted he would ever be able to. But she was his weakness, his vulnerability. If Tatara or Noro or even the Bin Brothers found out about her, he was sure they'd find a way to use it against him. Especially that sick fuck Yamori. Man would he have a field day with that knowledge. That's why she had to die, for her own sake and his.

Ayato clenched his fist subconsciously as if trying to convince himself that this was the right course of action to take for the both of them. If she had to die, he was the only one to do it. He _had_ to do it.

"Can I help you?" the scent of human trash wafted in his direction, his gaze shifted to the girl walking towards him and he arched an eyebrow. She looked about his age with a bob-cut the colour of honey and large coffee-coloured eyes.

"No." he replied coldly, digging his hands further into his pockets. He couldn't afford to make a scene here, not in front of her house.

"Oh, I only ask because you're standing outside my friend's door so I thought maybe you knew her." the girl replied brightly. Ayato frowned at the floor, he should have known she was a friend. Good thing he didn't kill her.

"Wait, are you Emily's cousin?" the girl asked curiously. Ayato looked up at her in surprise - Emily's what? How on earth did she get to that ridiculous conclusion? "She told me that her cousin was staying with her for a while last year around this time so I just guessed...Hey, where are you going?"

"She's not home." he said distantly as he passed the girl and made his way back down the stairs. Trust her to come up with some stupid bullshit lie to make things seem normal. He shook his head and tossed up the hood of his jacket and deciding to leave his decision until he'd dealt with the shit hand he'd been given first. A stupid subordinate, a runaway woman and Yamori practically breathing down his neck.

He was going to kick the shit out of Banjou when he found him.

Actually, finding where Banjou was hiding wasn't as hard as he'd initially thought. There was only one place he could have been anyway and, incidentally, it was the same place that would have information about Kamishiro Rize: Anteiku. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, psyching himself up, before stepping right off the roof. The glass shattered instantly as his boot thrust through in a powerful kick and crunched under his weight as he swiftly took out his stupid, useless subordinate with another kick.

"Banjou-san!" Ayato didn't bother paying the second person in the room any attention. If he was with Anteiku he was just as worthless and weak as the rest of them. Pathetic.

"You sure do talk a lot, Banjou." he said glaring down at the older man moaning and gasping on the ground at his feet. Grinning slyly, he slammed his foot down on the now broken table, "Do you want me to torment you until your vomiting blood again, hah?" To his right, a bird flapped its wings wildly, rattling its cage, and squawking. Ayato's gaze briefly slid from the trash at his feet to the cage, _How nostalgic..._

"Ayato...!" Banjou groaned, sweat beading on his face. Ayato's expression shifted back into his usual cold eyes and scowl. He was pissed off. Someone was going to get hurt. The other kid in the room looked as though he was going to throw up as the door was pushed open.

"Banjou-san, are you being violent - Geh!" both Ghouls stopped dead in the doorway from shock and fear. They hadn't expected Ayato to show up but quickly moved to join their fallen _leader_ on the ground, the third of their party having being hidden from view before also joined them. "A-Ayato-san...Why are you...?"

Ayato didn't give them the privileged of finishing their sentence, "That guy wouldn't answer his cell phone." he said simply as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "At any rate, all of the 20th Ward's information is gathered here therefore I went out of my way to come here." He glared fire at them all, "Got it, dumb-asses."

He didn't expect a reply however that didn't stop Banjou from muttering something too softly for Ayato's ears. He figured it was something about the Kamishiro woman though.

"Did you say something, trash?" he asked patronizingly but before Banjou could reply or Ayato could do anything to _make_ him reply, the guy Ayato had been previously ignoring stepped into the game.

"Uh, um..." he started but Ayato's ice cold glare made him stop before he even really got started. Trash should just stay quiet. He half turned, preparing to knock this kid into next week when a new voice, a voice that made his temper soar spoke:

"Hold on a minute, what's all the commotion?" Touka looked shocked to see her little brother standing amongst the chaos but that shock quickly faded to annoyance, "Ayato."

He smiled at her, it was a devilish, condescending smile, "Yo, long time no see, idiot sister."

Touka's glare softened minutely and she seemed simultaneously relieved and saddened, "Where did you wander off to, idiot?" she asked him.

Ayato withheld the scoff threatening to burst through him, "I've been studying the world. I'm different from a peaceful idiot like you...I'm not a human. I'm a Ghoul." His stupid sister gave him the reaction he'd expected.

"Little kids shouldn't act so arrogant." she growled through gritted teeth. All the teasing had gone out of Ayato - he was serious now. The fact of the matter was Touka knew nothing of how the world really worked. She lived a peaceful life, as peaceful as it could be for their kind. She had the opportunity to be happy. Ayato had to kill his happiness.

"You're the little kid." he told her, "Face reality, you callous."

"Oh my..." Ayato's fury soared. Damn it. He'd wasted too much time with his sister and now _they_ were here. He swore under his breath. Touka's eyes went wide as she realized she'd let someone get behind her and hadn't even heard them approach.

"I had heard your sister was here but I didn't think she'd be a shop employee. You're both so beautiful, I'm jealous." Nico, the flamboyant weirdo that often worked with Yamori, cooed sending chills down Ayato's spine.

"Yo Ayato-kun. I was waiting for you." Yamori said with his large arms folded over his chest. Ayato's scowl deepened,

"Che. You already know this place pretty well, huh Yamori." Ayato replied with clear annoyance. This was just what he needed, Yamori and his twink fucking things up and taking the credit for it.

A thought tugged its way into Ayato's mind - if they were already here and knew he was coming, was it possible they also knew about _her_?

"It's all thanks to Nico." Yamori said breaking into Ayato's fears, "His nose works really well."

As if on cue, Nico touched his long nose and laughed, "That's right! If I'm following a scent, I can find it in no time!" Ayato fought to keep his expression in check - Shit! How could he have forgotten about that?! He did a quick mental check, was there anything on his body or clothing that could lead back to her?

"Rize-san isn't here!" Banjou said drawing the attention back to the reason both Ayato and Yamori were there in the first place, "So what use is it for you guys to come here?"

"Hmm, you're right Banjou-kun." Nico said knowingly and clutched Yamori's shoulder as they both turned their attention to the guy on the ground,

"Yep, Macho Beard." Yamori agreed, "But our orders were to capture 'Rize herself' or to capture 'the one who smells like Rize'." Yamori and Nico both turned to the one person in the room who had been almost totally silent the entire time; the eye-patch kid.

"That's him." Nico said smiling right along side Yamori. Ayato, thankful for any shift of attention away from him and his activities outside Aogiri, decided it would be better for him to work _with_ Yamori instead of against him in this case. "Shall we quickly take him back?"

Touka suddenly moved between them and Eye-Patch, glaring harshly and acting tough. She really didn't know what she was up against. "Hmph. Take him back? Do you think we'll let you do as you like?"

Yamori moved before anyone else could react and grabbed Eye-Patch by the throat roughly, "Doing what one likes is the right of the strong." he said as Eye-Patch struggled in his iron grip. _This guy is the one Tatara wants? This weak piece of shi-_

Just then, before Ayato could even finish his thought, Eye-Patch swung his leg over Yamori's arm and aimed to kick him in the face. But he was still no match for the sheer power Yamori possessed and all too soon he was being smashed into the wall, coughing blood and spit.

"Kaneki!" Touka cried as Yamori's foot connected with Eye-Patch's face spraying more blood onto the floor and wall.

"Gonna stand up or sleep?" Yamori asked cracking a knuckle and looming over Eye-Patch, "If you cooperate with us then I won't have to hurt you any more than this..."

Eye-Patch lifted his head to glare up at Yamori and surprise took hold of everyone but Touka in the room. His eye patch had fallen away and in its absence revealed a single kakugan. How? How the hell did this guy have only one?! Was this why _he_ was looking for Rize?

Suddenly, One Eye moved to punch Yamori, but the latter was still too fast and managed to get behind him, stabbing him through in the back with his kagune.

"Where...?" One Eye uttered, blood pouring from the corner of his mouth, "Where did he come from?" Yamori retracted his kagune and let One Eye fall to the ground in a heap. Movement just inside Ayato's field of vision made him remember his head, this confrontation wasn't over just yet.

"You...Bastard!" Touka cried as she charged toward Yamori, fists raised and fire in her eyes. Ayato cursed silently and moved to intercept. "Move, Ayato!"

He remained silent and swung his fist into her face sending her flying to the other side of the room. That should keep her quiet for a while. Slowly, he strode over to her to make sure she would stay down,

"You're so weak, Touka." he said coming to a stop by her feet, "Just like Dad." Her hand twitched and he heard her mumble the word father softly. His shoulders slumped slightly as she stubbornly climbed to a crouching position.

"Our father..." she said, her voice wavering, "You don't know anything about our father! He fought for our sakes!" She glared up at him, her kakugan glowing fiercely, producing her kagune and running towards him. Ayato stood still and sighed; why did she have to be so stupidly stubborn?

He blocked her kagune with his own, wrapping it around him like a blanketed shield. Touka didn't know what he'd been doing while he was away, she didn't have any idea just how strong he'd become. He could manifest both wings, while she could only bring forth one. She was weak.

"The one who doesn't know anything is you, Touka." he told her with a grin, "Our mother and father both died because they were weak. What can a weak person protect? Who can they save?" His kagune bristled with power that dwarfed hers, "Without power, the weak can only be snatched away."

"Take..." he continued forcing his kagune into long, sharp tendrils, "...This." Without hesitation he stabbed his sister continuously at a speed she couldn't hope to follow. Tears welled in her eyes as the realization she'd been beaten dawned on her. _This time stay down, stupid sister._ She staggered and fell to the floor at his feet.

"You should just grovel on the floor." he told her harshly. Ayato's mood had soured greatly, he wanted nothing more than to seek out the one place he could feel even the slightest bit happy, where he could have some semblance of a normal life, but instead he acted as cold as he felt and returned to his job.

"Ayato-chan, you're so cool..." Nico cooed extending a hand towards him as an attempt to touch his hair, "And cheeky."

Ayato slapped the elder's hand away instantly, "Don't talk to me like we're friends, fucking faggot." He pushed through both Nico and Yamori hoping they wouldn't ask questions.

"Should we take your sister too?" Nico asked seemingly unfazed by Ayato's cruel insult.

"We don't need her. She'd just weigh us down." he replied picking up a large duffel bag as he walked towards the door, "She likes to pretend to get along well with humans... Banjou, stuff that one-eyed bastard in the bag and let's go back to 11."

11:45pm

"Renji? What's wrong?" she asked rubbing her eyes and gazing up at the huge man in her doorway. He looked grim, more so than normal.

"I need you to come with me." he told her. Emily woke up immediately, something was horribly wrong. Grabbing her jacket and shoes she followed him out to his car down below and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Ken's been kidnapped." he stated once they were driving, "There's an organization of Ghouls calling themselves-"

"Aogiri Tree, right?" Emily finished having already known about them. Toshio had told her about Aogiri earlier that day and how they were targeting Investigators and CCG branches in several Wards but had only fully usurped the 11th. It was brutal and no one survived. Special Class Investigator Marude Itsuki was planning a full attack in retaliation. Aogiri were the ones who killed Chloe's dad.

"Yeah." Renji replied not looking the least bit fazed, "The Manager is planning on infiltrating their hideout and getting him back."

"You can't be serious?" Emily asked shocked, she liked Kaneki. In many ways he was like her; tied to both the human and Ghoul world and he was important to her. But going there would be dangerous even for Anteiku.

"You know something?" Renji asked curiously. Emily nodded, "The CCG are planning on raiding Aogiri's hideout. Marude got a lead on where their headquarters are in the 11th and is aiming to destroy them within the next few days. He's just got to get approval from the Chairman - which won't be difficult at all - and gather his men. I can't give you a specific number but it'll be in the high hundreds, maybe even thousands. That's only part of the problem. Unless Yoshimura has more information than I do, there's no certain number of how many members Aogiri has or how strong they are. There's rumours of 13th's Jason being associated with Aogiri, he alone is an S ranked, who's to say how many more like him there are or even stronger."

"_He's_ there too." Renji said. Emily stared out at the scenery whizzing past in a blur, trying not to feel anything. He wasn't part of her life anymore, he hadn't been for a year. She had promised herself that she wouldn't think about him for her friends sakes and for her own well being.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked him softly. Renji stopped at a red light and rested his hand on her knee comfortingly, "I wanted you to know everything before anyone else tells you." he said before returning his hand to the steering wheel, "Ayato was part of the group who took Ken, as was Yamori. Touka told us when we came back and found the place turned upside down. She'd tried to stop them but he was too strong for her. He's not the guy you knew anymore."

"It doesn't matter." she said softly despite the conflict she was feeling. Ayato had joined Aogiri, kidnapped a friend of hers and probably beat seven shades of hell out of his own sister. _What happened to you..._ she thought to no one but she already knew the answer. He had a deep seated rage within him, a hatred for humans that was so strong. She should have done more to quell that anger, she should have made him stay...

The cafe was dark and baron when she and Renji entered, she could smell the overpowering scent of various cleaning products and the subtle hint of coffee beneath it. A single yellow light shone in a bright rectangle along the floor and wall, with a long shadow stretching like a snake in the middle.

"Who's that?" she asked not recognizing the silhouette.

"Tsukiyama Shuu." Renji replied.

"The Gourmet? You _are_ serious, aren't you?" Emily commented in surprise as they neared the only open door. She could hear various raised voices of concern, mainly about how Tsukiyama couldn't be trusted with the safe retrieval of Kaneki.

"That's not a problem." Renji said as he entered the room just after Touka had proclaimed again that Tsukiyama would probably just try to eat Kaneki if he got the chance, "I'll keep an eye on him, he won't be able to do anything needless."

"Yomo-san..." she said in surprise. Emily stepped around the tall, vibrantly dressed Ghoul and followed Renji into the room, "Emily? You're here too?"

Emily met Touka's gaze briefly before looking away, she feared that if she met the older girl's gaze all her thoughts would appear on her face. Thoughts about Touka's younger brother...

"Oh my, this is really upsetting, I have turned over a new leaf. My feeling of wanting to save Kaneki-kun is simply out of friendship." Tsukiyama exclaimed dramatically, "I actually started to like him quite a bit, but I'm an idiot so I only realized it recently." Emily rolled her eyes and stayed close to Renji, she knew better than to trust, or go near, someone like Tsukiyama.

"Tsukiyama, you haven't forgotten about Kimi, have you?" Nishio Nishiki asked the Gourmet. Tsukiyama lifted his head and gazed up at nothing on the ceiling, somewhat dramatically.

"I don't have any interest in that thing now." he replied sending Nishiki into a rage again. Touka intercepted the attack,

"Stop it!" she yelled, "It's pointless to fight amongst ourselves!" Emily sighed and gazed up at Renji, he expression hadn't shifted. Apparently this kind of thing was normal. Knowing that, Emily was glad she didn't spend much time here anymore.

"Oi!" called a strangely familiar voice, "Can we come in?" All eyes turned to the door way where an red haired head was peeking in.

"Itori-san?" Touka asked curiously just as Uta also stuck his head in the doorway, "And Uta-san?"

Itori broke out into a wide, happy grin, "Hey you hooligans!" Uta's gaze shifted to Emily briefly and he gave her a small, rare smile. Though Emily returned it, she still wasn't sure if she could trust him completely. However now wasn't the time to be bringing that up - her business with Uta could wait until after they retrieve Kaneki and come back alive. Once everyone had established that it had been Yoshimura who had called them all there and that Kaneki had indeed been kidnapped by Aogiri, they all settled down to hash out a plan.

"Emily," Yoshimura said suddenly, "I'm sorry about involving you in all this. I know you try to maintain neutrality in your work, but we have need of your knowledge involving the CCG activities."

Emily nodded and swallowed the mouthful of coffee she'd just taken, "The CCG are onto Aogiri as well. As some of you already know," her gaze shifted from the old man to Uta sitting across from her, "Aogiri has taken complete control over the 11th Ward, totally wiping out the CCG branch there. They left no survivors. Marude is out for blood and has organized a plan of attack. In a few days, he'll lead close to 1000 men on a raid of Aogiri's hide out. Chances are Aogiri are already aware and are planning for it as well."

"With both sides preoccupied with killing each other, it should be simple enough to infiltrate Aogiri without being detected." Yoshimura said, "But it also presents more of a risk. Instead of just one threat, there'll be two. Uta-kun?"

"Yes?"

"How long will it take to make suitable disguises for everyone here?" Yoshimura asked. Uta leaned back against the leather couch and closed his eyes, mentally calculating the time.

"Two weeks." he said, "I'll have to close shop and work on them non-stop but they can be done in two weeks."

"Yomo-kun will supply you with the designs and anything else you need." Yoshimura said before leaning forward on his knees and knotting his hands between them, "Two weeks...That's our deadline. All of you, spend the next fortnight preparing - do whatever you have to do. In fourteen days, we're getting Kaneki Ken back."


	11. Chapter 11

June 14th, 12:24pm

Emily stared at the menu not really seeing what was written there. She was far too worried to eat. Her friends had all gone off to save Kaneki from Aogiri using the CCG raid as a cover. There was a very high chance that none of them would come back alive. She didn't know what was worse, the CCG killing them or Ayato having a hand in it. She purposely tried not to think about the CCG or anyone else killing him as well, but the thoughts crept in her mind regardless.

"What can I get you?" the waiter asked politely, pulling Emily away from her dark thoughts.

"Hmm... I think I'm feeling pancakes today." Chloe said causing him and Emily both to give her a weird look.

"Pancakes...for lunch?" Emily asked curiously. Chloe nodded and handed the menu to the waiter,

"Yep. I'll have the pancakes, with strawberries and cream. I'd also like a raspberry soda." she said with a wide grin.

"And for you?" he asked. Although Chloe had been pestering her about coming to this cafe for weeks, Emily just didn't have an appetite.

"I'll just have a juice. I don't care what kind." she replied quietly, handing the menu to the waiter. He repeated their order back to them, smiled and then disappeared. Emily sighed and rested her cheek on her hand, gazing out of the window at nothing in particular. She should have just told Chloe she was sick instead of being reminded of what her friends were off doing by the smell of roasted coffee beans. But Chloe had been so exited to go to the place her favourite author frequented.

"Hey, you know that waitress at Anteiku?" Chloe asked catching Emily's attention again, "The one a grade up from us?"

"Yeah, what about her?" Emily asked trying to sound uninterested.

"Have you ever noticed how much she looks like your cousin?" Chloe asked with a wide grin. Emily frowned - what cousin? She didn't have a...oh, right. She'd told Chloe that Ayato was her cousin when he'd stayed with her...but how did she know what he looked like?

"When did you ever meet him?" she asked curiously.

"A few weeks ago actually. I went to get your notes for History but you weren't home. I think he was looking for you too, he was standing outside your door. You know, he's kinda hard to talk to..." Chloe kept talking but Emily was no longer listening. Ayato had been at her apartment the day Kaneki was kidnapped. Why? What could he possibly have to say to her after a year?

Emily looked up to ask Chloe something but it was soon forgotten when she saw the news report on the TV screen behind her friend's head. Footage of the 23rd Ward - Cochlea Prison - and in giant kanji along the bottom of the screen read "COCHLEA ATTACKED?!". Emily's heart pounded, her breath catching in her throat as she strained to hear what the reporter was saying.

"...We've just now received word that out of the several hundred employees, only a small handful survived the disaster. Teams are still searching through debris inside the building for bodies of the victims but as of now the death toll stands at 257. Among those missing are..."

Emily shot to her feet as names rolled off the reporter's tongue, Hamada Masanori and his two sons, Akihiro and Isao among them. Chloe stared curiously up at her, having missed the report, surprised at her sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry." was all Emily said as she grabbed her bag and ran out of the cafe, almost crashing into the waiter as she went. She ran down the street, weaving in and out of crowds oblivious to the disaster that had just occurred, and desperately searched for her phone.

He picked up on the second ring, "Toshi? Toshi, I'm on my way."

"Emily?" Toshio's voice sounded distant and lacking any emotion to it, "...Cochlea was... My father and brothers..."

"I know." she said signalling for a taxi, "I know. I'll be there soon."

The taxi felt like it was driving in slow motion, they seemed to catch every red light and yet only twenty minutes had passed since Emily had left the cafe. Her mind was buzzing one hundred miles an hour - how could Cochlea have been attacked? Where were the missing people? Were Mr. Hamada, Isao and Akihiro alive?

...Was Ayato somehow involved?

Emily shook her head, no, she couldn't think of _him_ now. It had been made abundantly clear to her by Yoshimura, Renji, Uta and Touka herself that Ayato was no longer the same. His time 'seeing the world' had only strengthened his hatred towards humanity and he had joined the Ghoul organization Aogiri Tree as a result. For her friends, her precious people, and herself, Emily _couldn't_ think about him anymore. Especially not when Toshio needed her with him.

The taxi finally arrived at Toshio's apartment building and, after paying the fare, Emily rushed inside. Toshio was standing in front of his kitchen window, his hands behind his back, while his mother openly sobbed, bent over on the circular table in what served as the dining room. Toshio turned around when he heard the door open and close. He wore the same expression Uta wore, blank, emotionless, but his eyes were full of sadness and the light had vanished from them. He was an emotional wreck on the inside and Emily knew it.

"Hey." he said softly as she took off her shoes, "Are you doing okay?"

"That's my line." she told him as she quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I still can't believe it." he said into her hair. Emily nodded, she had experienced the same feeling.

"I'm sure your father and brothers will be fine." she told him earnestly, "They're all incredibly strong." She felt Toshio sighed sadly,

"I want to believe that, but with all that's happened recently in the other Wards and Investigators getting wiped out all over the place I can't help but to think the worst."

Emily didn't know what to say. She wanted to say something comforting, something that would help him change his mind but false hope wasn't what Toshio needed. Besides, he knew the dangers Investigators faced, men and women died all the time in the line of duty. But to think that people close to her, people she knew and laughed with could be those victims...

There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Aogiri had been behind Cochlea's attack. She glared at the window behind Toshio. Despite the fact she was supposed to stay neutral in the affairs of Ghouls, she couldn't just sit back and let Aogiri do what they wanted. They'd kidnapped her friend, made her family risk their lives just to get him back and now they had taken away her boyfriend's family. Someone had to stop them.

But she was just a lone human girl, there was no way she could stand up to an entire Ghoul organization filled with S, SS and SSS-rated Ghouls and live. She would be squashed like an ant before she could even do anything.

2:52pm

Emily held Toshio's hand securely as they sat on his bed watching the news. Nothing much had changed since the first report several hours ago but they were still finding more bodies and more survivors. Several S and SS-rated Ghouls had managed to escape in the chaos as well, that was worrying.

"Why do you think they did it?" Toshio asked sounding less like a teenager and more like an Investigator.

"Maybe they're trying to increase their ranks?" she supplied with a shrug. Toshio hummed thoughtfully and bit his bottom lip, squinting at the TV as he thought. "Maybe...but then why bother fighting against Marude-san? What's the point in leaving more than half of your manpower behind to fight when you could just leave and attack with your full power?"

"You think the two are connected?" Emily asked catching onto Toshio's thinking. He shrugged and tried to play it off, "Who knows. Up until a few weeks ago I would have laughed at the thought of Ghouls working together to over throw the CCG."

Emily gazed at him out of the corner of her eye - Toshio had been the one to tell her about Aogiri and about Marude's plan but she still had no clue how he'd found out. His father and brother's couldn't have told him - it would have had to have been someone higher up, but who? As far as she knew, he didn't know anyone that high up who could have been privy to that sort of information.

"Toshi!" Mrs. Hamada cried, yanking open his door and clutching the house phone tightly. Both Emily and Toshio looked up at her in shock, waiting for her to elaborate on what had made her burst into her son's bedroom in such a flurry.

"They found him!" She cried, fresh tears streaming down her face, "They found Isao!"

8.32pm

After receiving the phone call that Isao, Toshio's second oldest brother, had been found alive and immediately taking to hospital after having substatial injuries to his body, Mrs. Hamada, Toshio and Emily had rushed to see him. However when they arrived, the doctor had told them that he'd been taken straight to surgery and they wouldn't be able to see him for a few hours at least. He did promise to keep them up to date as much as possible. So now Emily was sitting in a cold, plastic hospital chair while Toshio paced back and forth in front of her, chewing his thumbnail, and Mrs. Hamada tapped her finger rapidly against the plastic arm.

For a long, long time it seemed as though the world wasn't moving and time had stopped. They were suspended in that hallway waiting forever. Emily had tried to stay calm for Toshio, but as each minute ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace, her anxiety became stronger and stronger. She was worried about Isao, she feared the worst for Akihiro and their father, and she still hadn't heard anything from Uta, Renji or Yoshimura on how Kaneki's rescue went.

And then, just as she was about to go give Renji a call, the surgeon walked towards them. He was still dressed in his scrubs and was drying his hands on a crisp white towel. Mrs. Hamada stood up straight away, all the colour had drained from her face again. Toshio stopped pacing and stood with his mother while Emily took her place behind them.

The surgeon looked exhausted; he was an older gentleman with short grey hair under his cap and had warm brown eyes. He gazed at each of them one by one until he finally gave them a kindly smile, "The surgery was a success. He's stable, but if you want to go see him I must insist you go one at a time. He won't be awake but he can hear you."

For not the first time that day, Mrs. Hamada broke down in tears and threw her arms around the doctor, hugging him tightly. Toshio's own relief was much more subtle, a small sigh and his shoulders dropping slightly. He half turned back, a smile planted on his handsome face, and reached for Emily's hand. She gave it willingly and returned his smile, although concerns still plagued the back of her mind.

Emily was the last one to see Hamada Isao that night. Toshio had told her to prepare herself for the sight, but despite it being sobering and emotional to see Isao lying on the hospital bed attached to beeping machines and tubes sticking out of him, awkwardly waiting for him to open his eyes and show her his signature cocky grin, Emily didn't feel quite as shocked as she should have. Isao was covered in a white blanket from his shoulders to his toes but he had bandages up and down his arms and one covering the right side of his face. Sheepishly she approached the bed, gazing down at his face wondering what to say.

_I'm sorry_ was the first thing that came to mind - Ghouls had done this, Aogiri in particular. Men and women she had pledged her life to help even if they were hellbent on obliterating humankind. She had never thought that someone she knew, someone she cared about could have been hurt by them. She couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible.

What if was Toshio lying there instead of his brother? How would she feel? What if it was Chloe? Closing her eyes she moved away from the bedside and went to the window to gaze down at nothing below. She was being selfish again, wishing that there was a way Aogiri and other Ghouls could leave her friends and loved ones in peace even though it was impossible. Mr. and Mrs. Hamada, Akihiro and Isao were all adults capable of making their own decisions. They were all Investigators, they knew the risks of their jobs. How was that any different from walking the streets in the 3rd Ward alone at night and being attacked by a Ghoul? Or better yet, how was that different from being attacked by a human? Humans being murdered and eaten by Ghouls was so common these days, she sometimes forgot that humans also killed humans and it wasn't even for survival.

Behind her, Isao stirred in his sleep, moaning something incomprehensible. Emily half turned to face him, waiting to see if he was just sleep talking or actually waking up. He frowned and made the same moaning noise, he looked like he was having a bad dream and she was reminded of when she found Ayato asleep on her balcony moaning in his sleep and craving physical contact. She slid her fingers around Isao's hand, "Isao-san." she called softly in gentle tones, Isao's frown deepened and his lips parted as if he were trying to form words he didn't know, "It's Emily, you're safe now."

Isao's face softened as if he could hear her talking to him in his sleep. His hand twitched under hers and his breathing returned to normal. Maybe it was a terrible, horrific thing that had happened to him and countless others, maybe he had seen things that haunted him in his sleep and would have to live with that for the rest of his life, but at least he still had his life. He was safe and alive. Emily decided then that she would stop thinking of him as a martyr in this war between Ghoul and human and instead view him as a survivor. He was one after all.

June 15th, 7:30am

Emily stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Her neck hurt and she couldn't feel her arm. The three of them had spent the night at the hospital waiting for Isao to wake up and Emily had fallen asleep in the uncomfortable plastic chair. Beside her, Toshio was resting his cheek on his hand still fast asleep. Mrs. Hamada was no where in sight but Emily figured she wouldn't be too far away. Yawning and stretching, she decided now would be the perfect time to give Renji a call and demand an update.

He picked up after her second attempt, "Hello?"

"Jeez, would it kill you to just pick up your phone and send me a text message?! I'm going insane with worry!" She snapped at him, earning a few interesting looks from patients and their visitors sitting outside the hospital.

"I'm sorry. We've just been...caught up." he replied apologetically. Emily let out a breath and all her anger went with it,

"Is everyone alright? Did you get Kaneki-san back? What happened?" she asked in succession.

"Yes. Sort of. A lot." Renji replied in his usual stoic tone, "But it'll be easier to talk in person. Where are you right now?"

Emily pouted at the ground - of course he could tell she wasn't at home. "I'm at Kanou General. You heard about the attack on Cochlea, right?"

"Yeah."

"Toshio's brothers and father were there. His eldest brother and father are still missing, but Isao got admitted yesterday." she confessed to him. There was a silence from Renji's end and she wondered whether she'd put him in another awkward position. But instead of saying anything about it he simply said, "I'll come get you." He hung up before Emily could respond.

Toshio was awake when she returned to the waiting room. In his hand he held a steaming disposable cup of coffee but he still looked sleepy. His hair was disheveled and he gazed at everything as though he wasn't quite seeing it. It was cute.

"Hey." she greeted him taking her seat again.

"Hey." he replied slightly dazed, "Where'd you go?"

"I had to make a call." she replied, "So I was going to go home to shower and change my clothes. Do you want me to grab anything while I'm out?" Toshio blinked at his coffee for a moment. Emily wasn't sure whether he was thinking or if he hadn't yet comprehended anything she said.

"Toothbrush and toothpaste." he said finally, "My teeth feel furry. It's gross." Emily couldn't help but smile at him; she'd always known him to be incredibly switched on and perceptive. She'd never seen him moments after he'd woken up and it was like a puppy.

"Alright. I'll be back soon." she told him standing up again. He nodded, gave her a small wave and a half smile and went back to staring at his coffee. Renji had just pulled up by the time Emily made it to the front of the hospital. After a quick visual inspection, she was satisfied that he was fine. Physically at least.

"Do you mind if we go to my house to talk? I need a shower and stuff." she asked him as he drove.

"That's fine." he replied turning the car around and heading in the direction of her apartment. They drove in silence for a while until Emily couldn't take it any more, "So what happened?"

"We infiltrated their base with success and didn't really run into too much trouble. Using the raid as a cover worked well in our favour. But..." he said trailing off as they stopped at a red light. Emily looked up at him, his knuckles were white on the steering wheel, the only sign he was angry.

"But?" she asked softly wondering what had made him that emotional. Renji took a breath,

"Nishiki and Touka ran into trouble." he told her. Emily's breath caught, he had said that everyone was okay! Did he mean that or did he just say that to keep her from worrying too much?

"They're both fine, Emily." he told her feeling her distress.

"Then what kind of trouble do you mean?" she asked unconsciously clutching her jeans.

"Ayato." Renji replied as the light turned green. Emily's heart seized at his name. She had known he was going to be there ever since Renji had told her that he was part of Aogiri. She just hoped he would be busy doing something else, something far away and not trying to kill her friends.

"What..." she began unsure on whether she wanted to know the details, "What happened?"

Renji shook his head, "I wasn't there and Touka didn't want to talk about it. What I know came from Nishiki. He said that Ayato met them on the stairs heading up to the roof. His sole aim was Touka and would have completely ignored Nishiki if he hadn't stepped in to defend her. He doesn't remember much after that but when he came to, he was surrounded by four Aogiri members. Ken turned up right on time and killed them. When they made it to the roof, Touka was wounded badly on the ground and Ayato was about to deal the final blow."

Emily was quiet as she absorbed this information. Ayato's sole attention was on Touka? Why? Why was he so obsessed with fighting her?

"Wait, Kaneki?" Emily asked, "Wasn't he kidnapped?"

"He managed to break free. According to Nishiki, he and Ayato fought and they ended up on the floor below. He didn't know what happened during that time, but Ken was the one to walk away." he replied stopping the car and shutting it off outside Emily's apartment complex. She was frozen - Kaneki had fought with Ayato? How was that even possible? She hated to say it about someone she liked, but Kaneki was weak. She remembered just how strong Ayato was when he fought against her stalker. He had been injured and weak then, yet he'd still managed to kick Goro through a wall. Who could tell how much stronger he had gotten over the past year? There was no way Kaneki could fight or win against Ayato. No way. And yet...

"Emily," Renji called. She looked up into his steel grey eyes and found them compassionate, "There's a chance he could be-"

"Please don't." she begged, the words tumbling from her mouth in a hurry, "Please...Don't say it."

Renji clasped his hand around hers and squeezed in an attempt to be comforting. She couldn't deal with this right now, not when her boyfriend's family were still missing. She couldn't bare more heartache. She couldn't even hear the possibility that Ayato might be...could be...No. She wouldn't even think it.

Renji eventually coaxed her out of the car but she didn't remember unlocking her door, walking to her bathroom or even undressing and yet she found herself sitting on her shower floor letting the warm water run down her back and over her head, clutching her knees to her chest.

It was true that she didn't want to know if Ayato was dead, but part of her knew she needed to find out. She would never be satisfied until she knew. She could deal with all the emotions she felt once she had found out the truth. But there was only one person who knew first hand what happened, only one person she could ask.

Drying herself and dressing, she wrapped her hair in a towel and headed out to where Renji was sitting on her couch, sipping coffee. "Where's Kaneki-san?" she asked him. Renji didn't look up,

"I don't know." She ask on the arm chair closest to the door,

"What do you mean you don't know? Isn't he at Anteiku?"

"No. He left. I don't know what happened to him but he's not the same Ken who came to us. He's different somehow. Whatever they did to him, it broke something inside him." he replied.

Emily's hope faded and so did the uneasy, nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had convinced herself she needed to know what happened to Ayato, but she was unsure how she would feel if her fears were confirmed. If Kaneki reported that Ayato was dead, how would she feel about the one who killed the man she loved? The one person she felt the closest to in the entire world, the one who walked her path beside her. How would she feel about him?

After picking up a packet of toothbrushes and some toothpaste from the convenience store, Renji took Emily back to the hospital. Neither had spoken a word to each other since her apartment. Her mind was a mess with questions that were unanswered and fears that had yet to be confirmed or denied.

"If you want to find Ken," Renji said as Emily climbed out of his car making her stop and lean down to hear him, "Find Tsukiyama. He was with Ken when he left and he'll know where he is."

"Thank you." she said earnestly and gave him the best smile she could muster.

"Just be careful, Emily." he said before she closed the door. He was always telling her to be careful but never gave her any context of what or whom she should be careful of. In this case did she have to be careful of Tsukiyama, Kaneki or the truth? Was it all three? Who knew, but now she had a lead.

Toshio was leaning against the wall outside Isao's bedroom when Emily finally found him. He looked much more awake than before she felt and smiled when he saw her. "There you are." he said extending his hand out to her, "Good news, Isao's awake. Are you okay, you look pale?"

Emily tried to return his smile and nodded, "I'm fine." she said and then his words caught up with her, "He's awake?" Toshio jerked his head towards Isao's room and pulled her with him,

"Come and see." Isao was lying against several pillows listening to his mother talk softly when they entered but turned to smile at them when he heard the door close. He was still weak and looked like death but at least he was awake and responsive now. Emily's smile was real, perhaps the first real smile that day, but it mirrored Isao's in its weakness. Something, even in the state he was in, he managed to pick up.

"You doing okay, little sis?" he asked when Toshio and his mother stepped out for a moment, leaving Isao in Emily's care. She nodded and held his hand tighter, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Heh," he tried to laugh but it ended in a cough and a groan, still he smiled, "I don't doubt that. There's something else though, isn't there?" Emily searched his eye, begging him to see it so she wouldn't have to say anything. Isao flipped her hand over and laced his fingers between hers, weakly squeezing, "It'll be okay, you know that right?"

"I should be the one saying that to you." she confessed trying hide behind humour, "How're you feeling?"

"They've got me dosed up on so many pain killers, I can't feel a thing. Aside from having half my face in darkness, I'm pretty good. Considering..." his face darkened dramatically for a moment. Emily assumed he was remembering what had happened two days ago. She felt terrible again. Isao had gone through something traumatic and she was worrying about her own problems again. How insensitive could she be?

"Anyway, the doctors say I was out for two days and no one will tell me anything. Have they found Akihiro or Dad?" he asked snapping out of his memory. Emily shook her head, "I'm sorry, we haven't heard anything either. They're still searching though and I'm sure they'll be with the survivors." Isao closed his eye and exhaled slowly, sinking deeper into his pillows.

"I see." he said before going quiet. Emily unlaced her fingers from his and moved to the other side of the room to sit down, letting Isao sleep in peace. She rested her cheek against her fist she watched him, he looked so at ease yet sad at the same time. She couldn't begin to imagine what he was going through and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Emily knew that the time to choose a side was rapidly approaching but for now she decided she was going to do her best to support Toshio, Chloe and Isao through this whole catastrophe; a catastrophe that her other friends and Ayato seemed to be at the centre in. Tomorrow morning she would go to Itori and find out where Tsukiyama was.


	12. Chapter 12

June 22, 7:30am

It had been a week since Cochlea had been attacked by Aogiri and Toshio's brother, Isao, had been admitted to hospital. One week since Emily had found out Kaneki Ken had someone overpowered his captors and fought with Ayato, possibly killing him. Over the past six days she had been trying everything she could to track down Tsukiyama Shuu in hopes that he would know where Kaneki was. She'd gone to Uta, Itori and even Nishiki for help. No one had gotten back to her with information and she felt as though she was never going to find the answer she was looking for. The only time she wasn't thinking about Ayato was when she was with Isao. He'd been in and out of surgery but he was slowly getting his strength back. He had bad days though, days where he didn't want to see anyone. The doctor said those were normal considering the stress he'd been through.

There'd still been no word on Akihiro or Mr. Hamada but no bodies had been found which gave Toshio and his mother hope that they were still alive. The CCG worked quick with the clean up and after four days, people were going back to work. There were also teams out searching for the missing Ghouls so that meant, along with the Investigators hanging around the 20th Ward already, things were getting heavy. Emily was rarely ever home between school, work, being at the hospital and annoying Uta and Renji but being out as much as she was was also dangerous for her.

She'd just gotten to her school when she was stopped by two Investigators. The elder looked to be in his mid to late 30s with a bulky build and a rather large nose and wide chin. He smiled down at her and appeared to be a genuinely nice guy. The other was substantially younger, looking to be around his teens or early 20s with snow white hair, large eerie eyes and stitches on his skin. He was cute in a kind of creepy way.

"Morning young miss." the elder greeted her, "My name is Shinohara Yukinori and this is my partner Suzuya Juuzou."

"Um...good morning." she replied sheepishly although inside she was a raging mess of worry and fear. Shinohara smiled easily again,

"I'm really sorry to be bothering you while you're at school but..." he said and then rubbed the back of his head chuckling lightly, "We're a little lost."

Emily's eyes widened at him. Lost? Investigators don't get lost. "Where are you trying to go Shinohara-san?" she asked shifting her bag to her other shoulder and returning his smile. Shinohara opened his mouth to reply but before any sound could come out his partner, Suzuya, had produced what looked like a flyer although it had been folded several times and the sides and corners were torn and tattered.

"We're going here." he said holding the flyer up and pointing to the building on it, "Can you tell us where it is?" Emily leaned forward to examine the picture. It was a building she'd seen many times; all brick and rundown looking. It was a few blocks from her house but she'd never seen any signs of activity at all from it. In fact, the building itself was pretty unremarkable.

"The old factory?" she asked peering up at Suzuya curiously for confirmation. He turned the paper back towards him and cocked his head to the side.

"Is that what it is?" he asked no one.

"Uh, yeah. Can you give us some directions at all?" Shinohara asked taking Suzuya's distraction as an opportunity to talk some more. Emily nodded and pointed down the street she'd just walked,

"You'll have to take the train to the 20th Ward unless you drove. Here, I'll draw you a map." she said pulling a page free from her work book and a pen out of her bag.

"Tell us your name and I'll make sure your teacher knows you were helping us so you don't get in trouble for being late to class." Shinohara told her as she drew a rough mud map.

"Ishihara Emily." she replied handing Suzuya the piece of paper and shoving her pen back into her bag.

"Thanks for your help, Emily-chan." Shinohara said turning back to the blue-black sedan parked nearby. Suzuya, however, didn't move. He gazed at Emily with large, blinking eyes. It made her feel a little uncomfortable so she shifted her weight.

"I've seen you before." he said pursing his lips thoughtfully as he leaned towards her, inspecting her face closely. Emily leaned back automatically and clutched her bag closer to her.

"Juuzou, let's go." Shinohara called trying to get the boy's attention. Suddenly his eyes lit up and a huge smile appeared on his face.

"Ah! I know! The train - you were on the train! I saw you! Ha ha!" he exclaimed joyfully, then just as quickly as his grin appeared, he pouted and pointed a slender finger at her, "You didn't wave back."

"Juuzou!" Shinohara yelled again this time successfully catching the boy's attention. Forgetting Emily, Suzuya skipped over to the passenger side of the car and climbed in. Emily caught a look of relief on Shinohara's face as he too got into the car. Did she just dodge some kind of bullet? Shrugging, she turned and started walking into the school grounds when a voice made her turn back.

"Emily-chan~!" Suzuya was leaning half his body out of the open window, a hand outstretched towards her, "See you next time!" He waved at her and Emily remembered to wave back this time. When she was staring at the car's tail lights she shook her head and continued into her school. Suzuya Juuzou was a weird kid. Cute, but weird, and probably someone Emily didn't want to get too familiar with.

12:30pm

"How's your brother doing?" Chloe asked as she, Emily and Toshio ate their lunch together. Toshio shrugged as he chewed a cherry tomato,

"He's doing okay. It's only been a week though." he replied once he'd finished. Chloe nodded,

"Still no word on your dad and older brother?" Toshio shook his head and stared down at the purchased salad not really seeing it. Emily glanced between her two friends; Chloe who had lost her father to Ghouls just one month ago was still dealing with the loss of him, and now Toshio was faced with that same reality only there had been no confirmation which meant there was still hope making it crueler than actually knowing. She wished she could do more for them both but there really was nothing except being a shoulder to cry on. She wondered if Uta and Renji had felt like that when her own parents had died. Helpless.

Chloe reached for Toshio's hand, a sympathetic gesture that he returned with a smile. How sad - the three of them had lost parts of their family. They shared their pain with each other and yet Emily was the only still keeping secrets about the death of her father.

"By the way," Toshio said changing the subject, "What did those two Investigators want this morning?"

Emily blinked at him; how did he know about that? "They just wanted directions."

Toshio made a face of something akin to disbelief and surprise, "Shinohara-san lost? That's unusual."

"I thought so too - wait, you know them?" Emily asked him. Toshio nodded and separated his lettuce from the cheese, tomato, cucumber and chicken,

"Yeah, I met them at the main office a few times. Shinohara was good friends with my dad and Juuzou is...well he's pretty well known around there."

"They seem nice." Emily replied and though it was true, she was still unsure about Suzuya. Toshio leaned back on his hands and gazed skyward, "They are. Juuzou gets a bit..._difficult_ sometimes, but he's usually pretty cheerful. And Shinohara-san is a good man. I just don't get why those two were looking for directions."

Emily shrugged and finished her juice box, "Who knows." she replied although in the back of her mind she had doubts on how truthful they had actually been. She also had thought it strange that Investigators would need directions to an old factory that hadn't been used for anything in years and had chosen to ask teenagers, but she'd figured they were just desperate. But now Toshio had also voiced how odd it is, perhaps they'd been there for a whole other reason. Almost as if it were fate, Emily glanced up to see Touka walking across the grounds with her friend in tow. _Were they really here for her?_

5:55pm

"Don't you have somewhere better to be?"

Emily turned at his voice and smiled. Isao groaned as he struggled to sit up properly, Emily moved to help him right away but he gently shrugged her off, "Thanks, but I gotta work to get my strength back."

"I see now where Toshi gets his stubbornness." she commented pouring him a glass of water and handing it to him.

"Runs in the family." Isao replied with a wink and took the offered glass. He sipped gingerly, water spilled from the corner of his mouth and trickled down to his chin. He wiped at it with a bandaged hand, "Really though, you don't have to keep me company when you could be out doing teenage things."

"Teenage things?" Emily laughed, "What would they be?"

"Well I think my version of teenage things differs from yours." he replied also laughing. Emily took his hand, "I really don't mind though." she said seriously, "You need someone here every now and then and since your mother went back to work and Toshi has exams, that falls to me. How's your eye?"

Isao absently ran a finger over his bandaged eye, "I don't know. It feels fine to me but the Doc says I have to keep this on for a while just in case they missed something. I can't remember what he said, it was some kind of medical mumbo jumbo."

"It's probably for the best. Dr. Kanou knows what he's doing." Emily replied as a nurse walked in with a tray of food. She set it down in front of Isao,

"Dinner time." she said cheerily, "Today we have salmon and rice." Isao looked at the food like it was visually offensive to him and worked hard not to screw up his face,

"Um, I'm not really hungry right now." he said forcing a smile to the nurse. She just smiled back,

"Hamada-kun, you said that this morning at breakfast and at lunch. You should eat something." she told him in that mother-tone all nurses get when dealing with difficult patients, "If you don't want this, we can prepare you something else."

"No, no." Isao said giving up, "It's fine." He let Emily's hand go and reached for the utensils provided, gingerly digging into the pink fish and taking a small bite. Emily watched him; watched the way he hesitantly took the smallest piece of fish, subtly grimaced before putting it in his mouth and the look of absolute disgust that flashed on his features before he quickly recovered as he chewed.

"Is it to your liking?" the nurse asked him also catching his brief expression. Isao passed the chop sticks to Emily,

"Can you try the fish for me?" he asked. She took the metallic sticks and did as he asked. It was cooked perfectly and melted in her mouth. Who said hospital food was trash?

"It's perfect." she replied earning a disappointed look from Isao, almost like he was hoping she would say it tasted terrible.

"Must just be me then." he muttered, "Um, I think the medication is messing with my sense of taste."

"That's not uncommon, Hamada-kun. Tell you what, I'll keep this for later and you just tell me when you're hungry, okay?" she said picking up the tray.

"Thank you." he replied gratefully. The nurse nodded once more before she left. Isao closed his eye and leaned into his pillows while Emily watched him like a hawk. She knew that there were certain medications that affected someone's taste and that with the amount of painkillers and antibiotics Isao was on, it wasn't unlikely that he'd been prescribed some of those medicines. But it could also mean one other thing...

"Hey, Emily?" Isao asked without opening his eye, "Did that fish really taste good?"

"Yeah, it did." she replied honestly.

"Huh..." he hummed thoughtfully but didn't say anymore. Emily wasn't sure whether she should question him or not, but she figured that he was probably just as wary as she was.

"What did it taste like to you?" she asked him. Isao opened his eye again and stared at the ceiling,

"Sweaty gym socks and wet dog." he replied stoically. Emily forced a small chuckle and arched an eyebrow at him,

"Eaten a lot of sweaty gym socks, have you?" she asked bending to pick up her bag. Isao half smiled, his dark eye sliding to her face,

"Didn't you know? Protein of the Gods." he replied sounding like normal. Emily smiled at him again and squeezed his shoulder one more time before crossing the room to the door, but as her hand clasped the handle she paused. She was sure she was just being paranoid but what harm could one suggestion do;

"Try drinking coffee." she told Isao before sliding open the door, "See you later." As she walked through the near empty hallways, her heart pounded loudly in her chest. _Like sweaty gym socks and wet dog_. Isao could have just been acting overly dramatic or being a smart ass like normal, but the way he said it had seemed so honest. Like he didn't want to believe it either. But what he'd said, that kind of description sounded exactly like one someone else had said...

...Something a Ghoul had said...

Emily ran into something that made her fall backwards onto the ground. Rubbing her head she looked up to apologize only to be beaten to it by a grey haired old man with kind eyes,

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, young miss." he said holding his hand out to help her up. Emily took it and he pulled her to her feet.

"It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." she replied smoothing her uniform, "Um, Dr. Kanou can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can." he replied with a kind smile.

"It's about Hamada Isao's medication. Is it possible that he's on medication that warps his sense of taste at all?" she asked. The doctor held his finger to his chin and thought for a moment,

"It's entirely possible. Why, has he had problems eating?" he asked her. Emily shook her head,

"I was just curious, that's all." she lied. Saying goodbye to Isao's doctor and the head of the hospital, Emily quickly made her way home where someone was waiting for her.

Uta, dressed his tight grey jeans with rips on the knees and chains on the side, a sleeveless pinstriped shirt and his usual black sweater wrap, was leaning against the wall next to her door. He looked up at her over the top of his sunglasses when he heard her approaching.

"Where have you been?" he asked slightly annoyed, "I've been calling you all afternoon." Emily slid her key into her door and turned it, the tumblers clicked into place and it half a second, she was opening her door.

"Sorry, I've had my phone turned off. I was at the hospital." she told him apologetically, flipping on the light switch and taking her shoes off. Uta followed her in, sliding his sunglasses up onto the top of his head and sliding his own sandals. Emily tossed her bag on the couch and dug her phone out of her pocket. Leaning against the arm of the couch she waited for it to turn on while Uta flopped down in the armchair, swinging his legs over the side casually. Sure enough near fifty missed calls from Uta and over a dozen text messages demanding where she was and to answer her phone.

"I take it whatever you had to tell me was important." she stated holding up her phone for him to check. He nodded,

"_Is_ important." he corrected, "Itori got a lead on the Gourmet. We know where he is." Emily almost dropped her phone from the shock of this new information. Itori had found Tsukiyama.

"Where?" she asked getting to her feet. Uta sat up with his legs still over the arm of the chair, the shoulder of his wrap fell down to his elbow,

"I'll take you there."

8:45pm

Uta and Emily arrived at the supposed place where Tsukiyama was holed up. She knew from both Renji and Uta that he'd left with Kaneki after the Aogiri incident, but Itori's informant had said that though he was with Kaneki, he wasn't _always_ there. It seemed as though he wasn't quite as accepted as the others that joined Kaneki. Emily didn't blame him; after all, Tsukiyama had tried to kill and eat him twice.

"This is it?" she asked Uta while gazing up at the old complex. Uta nodded and pointed to the top floor,

"He's in the loft." he replied as a light flicked on, "Look, someone's home." Emily walked into the building with Uta trailing behind. The two took the elevator all the way to the top floor and soon they found themselves at the only door available. Taking a deep breath Emily knocked once, twice, three times.

A tense few seconds passed and Emily thought that perhaps whoever was home had orders not to open the door. But just as she was about to tell Uta that they should just leave, the door opened and Emily was faced with bright purple and pink striped suit and tie.

"My, my, what unexpected visitors." Tsukiyama commented as he regarded Emily and Uta, "Can I help you?"

"Where's Kaneki?" Emily asked immediately. Tsukiyama arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms,

"You get right to the point, don't you Emily-chan?" he said before leaning down and inhaling deeply, "You smell absolutely delectable tonight...Positively mouth-watering." Emily glared at him, something she never would have done if Uta hadn't been by her side,

"Answer the question, Tsukiyama. It's important." she demanded harshly. He smiled slyly at her,

"I'll tell you if you let me have a taste of your flesh. I've been saving myself for when I devour Kaneki-kun, but you've always intrigued me, Emily-chan. I believe your taste would be bordering on divine. So, what do you say? Just a cheek, or maybe a kidney..."

"You're not eating any part of her." Uta stated flatly earning a sharp look from Tsukiyama. The two men stared at each other for a while until Tsukiyama gave up and gestured to nothing,

"Well then I guess you won't find out where Kaneki-kun is. Au revoir." with that, he closed the door in their faces. Emily stared at it. She knew where Kaneki was living, but she had no idea when he would be there or what he was doing. She couldn't just visit every day in hopes he'd be there, someone would end up killing her and it would probably be the Gourmet. What could she do?

"We'll figure something else out, Em. Let's go." Uta said taking her elbow and leading her away from the door. Damn it. Damn it, damn it! She'd been so close to finding Kaneki and just like that her chance had been taken away from her. Why couldn't things just go to plan for once?

The air was cool back outside the building, but Emily didn't feel it. She was too busy trying to plan the next step that she didn't notice the shadowy figures approaching until they were right in front of her. She looked up at the boy in black with hair as white as snow. He looked vaguely familiar yet different somehow.

"Uta-san," he said in a soft voice, his gaze shifted to Emily, "How did you find this place?"

"I had Itori look into it." Uta replied sounding uninterested with the whole conversation. The boy lowered his gaze as though he'd already known Uta's answer,

"Ah." he said simply before looking up and smiling at Emily, "It's nice to see you again, Emily-chan." Emily froze finally understanding who this boy was in front of her. They'd told her he'd changed, that awful things had happened to him while he was at Aogiri, but she hadn't imagined a change so drastic. She could barely even recognize him now. Kaneki Ken stepped around the two and continued leading his group back towards the building. This was it, this was her chance and she wasn't going to get another one.

"Kaneki!" Emily cried as he walked away from her. She had been waiting for this moment for a week. Waiting to confront him and destroy the secret that only she and three others knew, and the answer she was seeking was walking away from her.

He stopped but didn't turn around, signalling to the others to keep going. That was good enough for her, at least he was taking her seriously. "Please..." she said trying to find the voice that had abandoned her the moment she realized who he was.

"I'm not going back to Anteiku." he told her seriously, "There's things I need to do."

"I don't care about that!" she yelled getting frustrated with herself for being unable to just ask him one question. Kaneki faced her, surprised at her outburst and that she wasn't actually there to try and talk him into going back to Anteiku. Why was this one question so hard for her to ask? Was she really that afraid of the answer?

"Then why are you here?" he asked stoically. Renji was right; he had changed and it wasn't just his appearance. She stared at him trying to see the shy boy with the awkward smile who'd almost run into her at the cafe a few months ago, the boy who asked her questions about living in two worlds...Where had he gone? What did this snow-haired creature done with him. She took a deep breath and tried again;

"I want to know..." she began but the words became stuck in her throat. This time Kaneki was patient and waited for her to find the words she wanted to say. She swallowed and closed her eyes hoping that not looking at him would let her say what she needed to.

"Nishio-san said you fought with him...Please," she said as she felt the hot tears sting her eyes, "Please tell me what happened to Ayato?"

"Ayato?" Kaneki asked in surprise, "How do you know Ayato?"

"Just answer the question!" She begged looking up at him again, unruly tears cascaded down her cheeks. Kaneki's features softened and he resembled the boy he'd once been. He closed the distance between them, obviously understanding that this was very serious to Emily. He rested a hand on her shoulder,

"We fought but I didn't kill him." he told her gently, "He's still alive." Emily didn't believe him at first, all she'd heard was _we fought, I killed him_, and it took her a moment to register what he'd just told her. Emily choked out a sob and covered her mouth with her hand. Ayato was alive! He was alive! She dropped to her knees overcome with so much emotion she couldn't stand. Kaneki crouched before her,

"Emily? Are you okay?" he asked. Emily flung her arms around him unable to contain the joy she felt,

"He's alive..." she cried clutching his black shirt tightly and burying her face in his shoulder, "Thank you...Thank you..."

June 25, 4:23pm

Emily skipped down the hospital hallway joyfully. She'd felt like she was floating on air for the past three days, like sunlight was beginning to glow in her grey world once again. Ayato was alive, he was hurt but alive! And that meant that he hadn't taken part in the Cochlea attack so there was no way he could have killed anyone she knew. It was selfish but that made her happy. Right now she didn't have to face that choice that had been dangling over her head since the day her parents adopted her. She could put of choosing a side until another day.

Mrs. Hamada was just leaving when Emily reached Isao's room.

"Oh, Emily-chan...You seem brighter than usual, did you get good test results?" she asked curiously. Emily nodded; it wasn't a total lie. She'd scored a 94% on her biology exam, the second highest score in her class. But good exam results weren't the reason for her mood, however telling anyone the real reason would be suicide.

"Congratulations." Mrs. Hamada said earnestly, "Actually, I'm glad you're here. I've just been called into work, apparently there's a new kid Marude wants me to check into, so I was hoping you could just sit in with Isao until I get back."

"I'm not a baby, you know." Isao called from his bed inside. Mrs. Hamada faced her son, "You'll always be my baby, now shut up and do as I say." she told him sternly. Isao muttered something Emily couldn't make out.

"Of course I will." she told the older woman, she was there to visit Isao anyway. And to check to see if her theory was wrong.

"Excellent. I should only be gone and hour or so." she said before waving goodbye to her son and leaving. Emily dropped her bag beside the door and wandered over the chair beside Isao's bed.

"So what's this test you did well on, then?" he asked curiously.

"Just a biology exam." she replied, "A few more years and hopefully I'll be good enough to go to medical school." Isao hummed thoughtfully,

"That's right, you want to be a doctor." he said, "I suppose you'd be able to fix my brother up when he gets his ass beaten." Although he was trying to be light-hearted, there was something wrong with Isao. Almost like he'd given up on something. His joking was empty and the laughter in his eye was all but diminished. Emily made a vague comment in agreement and then the room fell silent. It hung heavy between then like humidity after a cyclone. Hot, heavy and sticky. It was uncomfortable, but Emily didn't want to be the one to ask.

Finally, Isao broke the silence after almost half an hour of unbearable torture, "Can I ask you something? I want you to be as honest as you can be."

"Of course." Emily replied too quickly, although she knew whatever his question might be there was no way she could answer it one hundred percent honestly.

"How did you know about the coffee?" he asked her straight up. Emily looked away, anywhere but Isao's face. She didn't want him to see the absolute desolation she felt. Her happiness had just been shattered, burned to ashes and then obliterated.

"It tasted really good. Actually it's the only thing I can stomach these days, so I was just wondering how you knew I'd be able to drink coffee." he clarified when she didn't answer, "Please tell me Emily."

"I can't." she sighed softly. Isao reached for her hand,

"Please, Emily. I'm begging you..." he pleaded so pitifully it physically hurt her to hear it. She looked up at him, he looked scared and lost like all his hope lay with her next words, hope she was about to crush.

She swallowed, "Ghouls..." she whispered, "They can't eat normal food. Their taste buds are wrong for it so it's repulsive to them which is why they eat human flesh to survive. It's the only thing they can eat."

She paused.

"That and..." taking another breath she destroyed Isao completely, "...And coffee."

He closed his eye and inhaled, the breath he exhaled was shaky and broken as if he were holding back tears. Emily imagined he would be. He'd spent years training to eradicate Ghouls, he'd made it to Rank 1 three months after Akihiro and now he was facing the possibility that somehow he'd become the thing he'd been hunting.

"It could still just be the medication though." Emily said quickly trying to stay optimistic. Isao opened his eye but didn't look at her, he knew she was clutching at straws for his sake.

"There's only one way to be sure." he said sitting up properly and reaching up to unwrap the bandage that was around half of his head. Emily's dread became heavier as each layer of white cloth was removed; how in the world was this kind of this possible? Was Aogiri trying to create half-breeds like Kaneki and if they were, why? What purpose to test-tube Ghouls serve in the scheme of things?

Emily thought back to her meeting with Kaneki a few days ago. He had changed drastically both physically and mentally. He'd managed to escape Yamori and beat Ayato in a fight. Now he was taking on both the CCG and Aogiri. Were half-breeds stronger than full blooded Ghouls? Was that why Aogiri were creating them?

The last few bandages fell away from Isao's handsome face, he'd closed his eyes again as if he didn't want to know the answer either. But as soon as he dropped his hands he opened them again. Emily stared into his eyes, both the colour of burnt wood. She sighed a sigh of relief and let her shoulders drop,

"Thank god..." she whispered standing up and moving to hug Isao. But as she leaned down, he blinked and just like that she froze. A single kakugan gazed back at her. She stepped back without thinking, the action only serving to make Isao feel worse.

"So it is true then? I'm a monster." he whispered covering his right eye with his hand. This was it. Emily could no longer shy away from the truth, Isao needed her help. He was like Kaneki, a one-eyed Ghoul. His days at the CCG were over.

Emily walked over the window and thought about how she was going to word what she needed to tell him.

"You asked before how I knew that you'd be able to drink coffee," she said gazing down at the cars and people going past, "I didn't answer you. What I'm about to tell you is something very few people know, something Toshio doesn't know and I'd appreciate it if you would keep it quiet. In exchange, I'll do everything in my power to help you adjust to this new stage in your life."

"What are you talking about?" Isao asked, "What secret are you keeping from Toshi?"

"The secret I can never tell him." she replied, "My father, Ishihara Ryota, was a Ghoul."

5:10pm

"You can't be serious?" Isao said in disbelief, "I knew you were adopted but...a Ghoul? Your father was a Ghoul?"

Emily faced Isao again and smiled helplessly, "Yep. But he wasn't like how you picture them. I'm sure in your time you've ran into some less than nice Ghouls, Ghouls who love eating humans, right? My dad...he would never kill another living soul even if it meant his own life. I know what you're thinking, how could a Ghoul survive without killing, right?"

"Well, yeah actually."

"He fed on people already dead." she replied simply, "Not all Ghouls are evil, not all enjoy killing humans. In fact some of them don't, but the starvation is enough to drive you insane. It's literally hell. I've seen it before."

"How?" Isao asked taking everything Emily was telling him strangely well.

"My parents ran a kind of safe house for Ghouls. They took care of the injured and the weak." she told him, "I kind of inherited it when they died..."

"Wait, so all this time you've been living with Ghouls? You realize you're dating a guy who's entire family is dedicated to killing them by any means necessary, right?" Isao said astounded that this kind of thing had been happening.

"That's kinda why it's been a secret." Emily replied, "You should know what would happen to me if the CCG found out about it."

"They'd kill you." he said instantly and then frowned, "Jeez, I'm already saying _they_." Emily walked back over to him and poured him a cup of water,

"You're not alone, you know. There's another one like you, he was once human too and we helped him." she said gently. Isao took the cup and drank its contents in three gulps.

"We?"

"Yeah. There's probably already speculation about this going around the CCG, but there's an organization in the 20th that mediates the goings on. Don't worry, they're nothing like Aogiri." she said, "When you're discharged I'll take you to them. They'll help you out more than I can. And if you want, I can try and set up a meeting with you and the other one."

"You said he was human too?" he asked staring into the empty cup in his lap. Emily nodded,

"You know about the accident a few months involving those two kids?"

"The beam thing?" he asked curiously. Emily nodded again,

"The boy injured in the accident and the other one-eyed Ghoul are the same person." she replied. Isao's eyebrows shot up curiously,

"I think I'd like to meet him." he said sheepishly. Emily squeezed his forearm gently, still amazed at how well he was taking the whole thing. Perhaps he'd known all along and had been convincing himself that it was true and that was why he wasn't freaking out?

"Listen, I have to go make a call. Will you be alright for a moment?" she asked him.

"Yeah, it's not like I can go anywhere." he grinned looking and sounding like the old Isao again.

"Alright, I'll be back in a sec." she said and left Isao to his thoughts. It was just starting to get dark outside, an ambulance was rolling out of the driveway ready to go on rounds throughout the city, patents being discharged were waiting for their family, friends or a taxi to take them home. One old woman was smoking a cigarette and ignoring the nurse telling her she had to be a certain distance from the doors to be able to do it. Emily decided to move to a more secluded space where she could talk without people over hearing her conversation. She found a little unused corner off the main road that led into a narrow street. The street light flickered on and instantly thousands of bug were flying into the light.

Emily switched her phone back on and waited for it to load, then she dialed one of the three numbers unnamed in her phone. It rang through once. She dialed again and waited. The line picked up on the fourth ring,

"Re-" Emily was cut off by a strong, calloused cold hand covering her mouth. She tried to scream and flail as more hands grabbed at her roughly but it was useless. The hands started dragging her away. A strong chemical smell seeped from the hand around her mouth and she felt herself become substantially heavier and tired. The hand disappeared from her mouth as a black thing dropped around her head, blinding her to the world, and the phone she'd been clutching tightly onto was flung out of her hand in the commotion. With darkness being all she could see, she was powerless to fight against the sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Plot Twist. <strong>

**Reading all of your reviews makes my day 1000x better. Thank you.  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 13

Date Unknown, Time Unknown.

The roaring in her ears felt like she was standing right next to a jet engine as it rumbled to life, the left side of her face was so cold and her shoulder was cramped. Slowly she blinked open her eyes, the world was sideways, spinning and dark but she could still make out certain things. Like the rectangular box directly in her line of sight, a tin can rolling back and forth over the metallic floor and the two large beings sitting opposite each other.

The van slowed and stopped, Emily lurched forward but didn't move. She was glad she hadn't moaned or called out, the two people hadn't noticed she was awake yet. The van's skeleton shuddered noisily underneath her as it stood in neutral, braked and waiting to go again. She flexed her fingers, trying to get the feeling back into them and realized her hands had been bound with what felt like plastic ties. They were tight, but didn't bite into her skin. The van lurched forward and they were moving again. Emily focused on keeping her breathing regulated, panic would cause shallow, fast breaths and alert those two sitting in the back with her to her awakened state. She closed her eyes again and deliberately took deep breaths while trying to figure out how she'd gotten into this situation and where she was going.

"Oi," one of the people in the back said, Emily willed herself to keep breathing. His voice was slightly muffled and she figured he was wearing some kind of mask, "Why do you think they want her?"

"Who knows. I just do what they tell me and don't ask questions." the second replied, his voice also muffled. There was a short pause and then the first one spoke again,

"Yeah but," he said, "Why a human?" Emily's breath came out a little faster than it should have. They were Ghouls. She'd been kidnapped by Ghouls. Real fear made her heartbeat pound heavier and faster than it already was - if she'd been kidnapped by Ghouls the chances of death had skyrocketed.

"I dunno, Jun. Maybe the King wants to make more of himself." the second replied sounding somewhat bored with the conversation. King? What king? Ghouls didn't have a king? Maybe it was a nickname for their leader, or a metaphor for something else.

_"A Ghoul organization?" Emily asked in disbelief. Toshio passed her the photocopied pieces of paper and smiled,_

_"That was my reaction too. But look, Em. Recon photos of guys wearing the same masks and cloaks with _this_ symbol on the back. The guy who told me said they're calling themselves Aogiri Tree." he told her as she flipped through the black and white photos. Sure enough there were dozens of photos of Ghouls wearing the same things, like a uniform, and on the back of their cloaks was a kind of fleur-de-lis, but instead of the ends of the leaves being curled downwards, they pointed up and there looked to be something like a lotus in the centre. _

_"They call their leader..."_

The One-Eyed King.

"Both of you need to shut up." a new voice said, his voice was nasally and it quickly conjured pictures of a rat - if a rat could talk, "Girl's awake."

_Shit!_ Emily thought to herself as heavy steps moved towards her. She opened her eyes and kicked out. Her foot connected with something and Second cried out.

"You bitch!" he yelled bending over. Emily rolled around so her feet were pointed towards the back of the van and tried to shuffle her way closer to the front. A cold hand clasped around her ankle and pulled her back down and then there was a heavy weight on her abdomen.

"You'll pay for that." Second growled.

"Oi, oi! Tatara said not to kill her!" First cried appearing over the shoulder of Second, clutching his arm and trying to pull him off Emily. Second just shrugged and First fell away again.

"I ain't gonna kill her." Second growled running a finger along the side of Emily's face as she struggled beneath his weight. She swallowed, hoping and praying he wasn't going to do something worse.

A sharp pain stabbed the side of her face where Second had been trailing his finger along, Emily's head rolled to the side and blood pooled in her mouth. Her head spun again but it wasn't from being drugged. Second lifted her head back to face him and punched her again and again and again. He wasn't using his full strength, if he had been she would have died. His punches were about as strong as an average human male's. But it still hurt and she would still be swollen and bruised. Swelling that was already starting to arise.

Second stood and Emily breathed out of her mouth, her nose had been blocked by blood flow.

"We were gonna be nice, ya know." Second said staring menacingly down at her, "But since you did that, I've no choice but to punish you."

Emily spat blood up at him, "I'm not scared of some underling piece of trash."

Anger flashed all over Second's body as he tensed and glowered at her. A green streak twisted down around his arm like a vine and came to a point just beyond his middle finger. He crouched over Emily and held the point over her eye.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "Let's see how long you'll last."

"Jinei." First cautioned but Second paid him no attention as he slowly lowered the sharp point towards her eye. Emily stared at it, hoping to call his bluff but Second didn't seem to be bluffing. Suddenly the van screeched forward and Second flew off her, the tip of his koukaku scratching her forehead deeply, and crashed into the iron grate separating the front from the back.

"We're here." the driver said harshly, "You'll be lucky if I don't tell the higher ups what you were planing to do, Jinei."

The back door was kicked open and light poured into the dark van, blinding Emily. Another hand was around her ankle, dragging her out of the van, she twisted and tried to kick but it, like every other attempt she had made was useless. First tossed her out onto the hard concrete without warning and she landed awkwardly, bruising her hip bone. She lay on the ground and looked up to see Second staggering out of the van. First picked her up and dragged her into the building. Rubble, dirt and debris where lying all about the place, not that taking in her surroundings would help her. Emily didn't even know what Ward she was in. She could have been off the mainland completely but she doubted it.

"Oi Jun," Second nudged First's arm lightly, "Let me have a few more seconds with her?"

"So you can stab out her eye? Fuck no." First replied shoving Second off him.

"Nah, nah. I just wanna..._talk_." he said. Emily figured there was some other meaning for talking and that it was a code word in Aogiri for something less pleasant. First stared up at Second for a few moments before dropping Emily to the ground again.

"Fine. Five seconds. You kill her, he kills you." First said as he walked ahead of them with Driver. Emily rolled and squinted up at Second as he loomed over her again. He lifted his skull mask just enough for her to see his sinister grin and then he was kicking her hard in the stomach until she coughed blood. There was nothing she could to do stop it. She curled around, he just kicked her harder and sometimes in the face. She rolled over, he kicked at her kidneys and spine. She couldn't escape, she could barely breathe and the edges of her vision were starting to distort and darken.

Five seconds felt like five weeks and Emily was sure she was going to die before that time was up. Then, Second stopped. She was saved, First and Driver had come back and stopped Second. Her mouth twitched, it was too painful to actually smile. Second bent down and grabbed a fist full of her hair. Emily cried out weakly as he dragged her along the ground, rocks and glass scraped her calves and the back of her thighs mercilessly. She heard doors opening and then once again she was tossed to the ground like rubbish.

Someone grabbed her arm tightly and half lifted her, "This girl. This human girl is that answer. She is the adopted daughter of Ishihara Royta and will help us in our fight against human kind and the CCG!"

Emily blinked weakly at the sea of faces before her. Most of them wore the same skull mask, but there were two or more who still wore their own, and some who were no masks at all. A tall, young looking guy with blonde hair, the fringe of which was sleeked back was one such Ghoul . Emily eyes scanned the crowd. Her breath hitched as her eyes met with familiar midnight blue eyes.

7:15pm

Ayato stood with the rest of Aogiri high enough to be summoned by Tatara. He leaned against the wall, scowling at his bandaged right hand. It had been just over a week since his fight with Kaneki that left him half broken. It was no secret around Aogiri that Ayato had gotten his ass handed to him, so he'd spent the better part of two days beating down any challenge to his authority. Suffice to say, it didn't help his wounds any.

"Hey, Ayato-senpai!" Naki called as he pushed through the new crowd of members making their way into the room. Ayato groaned internally. Naki had been let loose after Eto and Tatara had attacked Cochlea since he was Yamori's underling and supposed _right-hand man_. Though without Yamori around to confirm such a claim anymore, no one really cared. Ayato hated him. Naki was an idiot who cried at almost everything and barely listened to orders.

"What?" Ayato replied as Naki came to stand beside him.

"I must be pretty important to get called to this thing, right? I mean, it's got to be some pretty serious stuff." Naki said scanning the crowd.

"Who knows." Ayato replied simply and continued to stare at his hand. How had he become so weak? Or rather, how had Kaneki become so strong? What had Yamori done to him exactly and...how did he know Ayato's true intentions?

"What do you think it could be? New orders to attack the CCG main building? Taking over a new district?" Naki continued talking even after Ayato had said he didn't care. He sighed, trying to fight the urge to beat the crap out of the annoying trash by his side. Then the room fell silent as Eto and Tatara entered.

"I suppose you're wondering why I called this meeting." Tatara said as he stood at the front of the room on the little make-shift stage, "As you know we need to expand our territory and recruit more to our cause. Our little game with the CCG has started to bring in more of us and we're slowly replenishing our ranks.

"However it's not enough. The King has ordered us to infiltrated other Wards starting with the 20th!"

The members cheered, all except Ayato who stayed quiet. Everything he cared about was in the 20th Ward. This wasn't news he could be happy about.

"As many of you know, the 20th is the most peaceful Ward for our kind. That is due to no small effort by a group of Ghouls who organize and moderate the goings on there. Many of you are familiar with the coffee shop Anteiku, and it is because of them that we've not been able to get a firm foothold in the 20th. Until now..."

Ayato frowned suddenly, he could smell something familiar. Something sweet and sour at the same time though it was hidden amongst various other scents. It was faint but it was there. What was it? He knew it, it was right on the tip of his tongue. Some kind of fruit.

He lifted his head and looked up at Tatara just as the door behind him opened, "Oi Naki, can you smell watermelon?"

"Huh?" Naki asked curiously. But Ayato wasn't paying attention. His full focus was on the human girl with long burgundy hair being held up by Tatara. He fought to keep his expression fixed, he could allow anyone to work out that he knew her. His own fucking weakness was right there, several meters away from him being dropped to the floor like she was nothing. Damn him, damn that asshole Tatara! Fuck them all!

"Ayato!" Tatara called out getting his attention. Ayato stalked forward, digging his hands roughly into his pants pockets. He couldn't let on, their lives depended on it. She was just a weak, shitty human. He had to believe that.

"Choose three of your strongest, most trusted subordinates to help you watch her." Tatara said tossing Emily down the stairs towards Ayato. She stumbled and almost caught herself on him but lost her footing and fell to the ground at his feet. Ayato let her fall, trying not to touch her despite the desire to hold her to him and protect her.

"You want me to babysit with pathetic, weak _human_? You're fucking kidding, right?" Ayato questioned. Tatara didn't respond, his sharp crimson eyes were locked onto the girl at Ayato's feet. Ayato shifted his gaze to see what had captured his boss' attention. Emily was on her hands and knees, struggling to stand. She whimpered and clutched her abdomen with one arm, then slowly managed to climb to her feet. The look she gave Ayato was defiant - it said 'I am not weak'. He scowled at her and shouted out three names, Jun, Hiko and Taka. The three appeared behind him in a second.

"Take this _girl_," he said with a sneer, "to her new room." He turned on his heel and started to trudge out of the room.

"Ayato-kun," Eto called, "If she dies, the King will be very angry~!"

Unknown time

Emily was shoved along the dimly lit, winding corridors roughly. Her legs hurt, her stomach was agony and she was still bleeding. All she wanted to do was just curl up and sleep, hoping that this nightmare would be over if she woke up. She stared at Ayato's back wondering just how much he had changed. She caught a glimpse of a bandage on his right arm and frowned, was that from his fight with Kaneki? She half smiled to herself, even in this situation she was more worried about him than herself. He was right all along, she was fucked up.

They stopped walking and Ayato unlocked and opened a steel door, it groaned and complained as he slid it completely open. Emily gazed at it through her hair, apparently it was an old industrial freezer that hadn't been in use in years. Ayato flipped the light switch and walked inside, signalling for them to follow with a curl of his finger. Inside all the shelves had been removed and a single bed, chair and table had been placed in it.

"You'll stay here until we get orders to take you back." Ayato explained, "You won't leave this room unless I say so and when you do, you'll be escorted all the time."

"So I'm under house arrest?" she asked although it wasn't really a question. Ayato scoffed,

"You think I like this either? I have better things to do than babysit shit like you." he growled. He sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, "Look, I don't know why you're so important to the higher ups but you are. So just do what I say when I say it and you'll probably get out alive. You three," he turned to his subordinates, "Go on a run and get some food, clothes and anything else our _guest_ needs. Make it quick and don't fuck up."

"Sir." the three of them said before filing out of the room, leaving Ayato and Emily alone. Ayato closed the door behind them and Emily moved to sit down on the edge of the bed and stared at her knees. She had gotten her wish in a round-about way. She was able to see Ayato again but not in a circumstance she could be happy about.

"You okay?" he asked striding over to her and crouching in front of her knees. She flinched as his fingers brushed her hair out of her face but he ignored it, "I'm sorry about all that..."

"I know." she said quickly, "You have to keep up appearances. I understand." She didn't look at him as he stared at her face.

"Who did this?" he asked her, his voice low and even. She couldn't tell what emotion he was feeling. Emily shrugged, "I didn't see his face." Ayato stood and put his hands on his hips,

"When I find out, that fucker will suffer." he growled but she wasn't sure whether it was to her or just in general but then he looked back down to her, "I'll be back in a second."

Emily knotted her fingers between her knees as the metal door scraped along its run. A few hours ago she'd been so happy knowing that he was alive, but now she felt as though that happiness was years away and out of her reach. Of course she was glad to see Ayato again but not here, not in this place. He was a stranger to her here. She wondered whether Renji would figure out what happened to her. Would there be a rescue mission for her like there was for Kaneki?

Ayato returned carrying a first aid kit and dragged the chair over in front of Emily and sat down. He rested the kit on his lap and lifted her chin, brushing the hair that had fallen into her face again.

"Tell me what happened?" he asked gently looking everywhere but her eyes. Emily watched as he popped open the lid of the kit and dug around for antiseptic and a cloth.

"I was at the hospital visiting a friend who'd been hurt during the Cochlea incident." she said deliberately. The corners of Ayato's eyes crinkled slightly while he opened the bottle of antiseptic and dabbed some liquid onto the cloth, the only sign she got that he felt bad about it, "I went outside to make a call and someone grabbed me. That's all I remember before waking up with the back of a van with my hand tied behind my back."

"That's when they did this?" he asked gesturing her face with the damp cloth. She nodded and he dabbed at her cuts. She winced and hissed out her pain involuntarily, "Sorry."

"It was only one of them." she told him ignoring his apology, "I think they said his name was Jinei."

"Fucking typical." Ayato growled scowling at nothing but answered the question Emily was about to ask about who Jinei was, "He was one of Yamori's subordinates. Apparently he'd taken on some of his personality traits too."

"Was one?" Emily asked curiously. Ayato nodded,

"Yeah, he kinda belongs to Tatara now that sick asshole is dead." he replied then added with a smirk, "Can't say I'm too broken up about that."

Emily lowered her gaze in shock - Yamori, 13th's Jason, was dead? She'd known that Kaneki had escaped him somehow but she never would have thought he died. "How did he die?"

Ayato shrugged and winced, "Dunno. My guess is that one-eyed guy, Kaneki, did all the hard work and the CCG finished the job."

"Kaneki-san..." Emily whispered before she could stop herself. Ayato finished cleaning the blood from her face and started digging around inside the first aid kit for Band-Aids.

"You know him then?" he asked distantly.

"Of course I do." she replied, "He's a friend of mine." Ayato's hands clenched around the first aid kit. He was angry again but Emily didn't understand why. Of course she would be friends with Kaneki, he was like her in a way, Ayato should have known that. He huffed but didn't say anything. He continued tending to her wounds in silence and when he was finished, he put the chair back and went to the door.

"I'm the last person to be telling you who to trust," he said with his back to her, "But be careful around that guy, Emily. He's something worse than Aogiri and the CCG...he's unstable."

The Next Morning

The sound of the heavy, steel door scraping along the ground woke Emily from her uneasy sleep. She groaned and sat up, the wired bed squeaked under her weight. Fresh air and sunlight filled her room, cooling the sweat on her skin and funneling out the stale oxygen. She had been expecting Ayato but the person who walked in was short and stocky with dark buzz cut.

"I'm Hiko. Do you need the bathroom?" he asked gruffly. Emily blushed bright crimson and nodded, using her hair to hide her face. Hiko jerked his head towards the door and Emily followed him into the corridor. They walked in silence most of the way until they reached the bathrooms.

"What was this place?" she asked glancing around. The bathrooms were like something you'd find in a bath house. Huge.

"It was a hotel until it burnt down several years ago. Now it's our base." Hiko replied, "Don't worry, the plumbing still works. We have a guy who worked at the water plant before he joined us. He hooked it all up." Hiko stepped to the side to let Emily through,

"There's towels and stuff in the closet next to the door. I'll get one of the women to bring you some clothes." he said before closing and locking the door behind him. Emily pouted, why did they keep locking her in? It wasn't like she could escape and out run them. She opened the closet that Hiko had pointed to and pulled out a white fluffy hotel towel. She turned on the shower tap and peeled off her clothes. When the water was just right, she sat underneath and let the water cascade over her. For a place as rundown as this, they sure had a great bathroom.

She'd just finished washing her hair when the door unlocked.

"Excuse me." called a light voice, "Emily-chan, I brought you some clothes. I'm not sure they'll fit you but they're clean. I'll put them in the second basket."

"Thank you." Emily called back over the noise of the shower and continued to scrub herself clean. What she wouldn't for a coffee right about now. Shutting the water off, she squeezed the remaining water out of her hair then dried herself off with the towel. The clothes the woman had left were a pair of blue jeans, a dark t-shirt and a green and white striped jumper along with a fresh pair of underwear. Those were new and still had the tickets on them. The clothes were a size too large but they would do. Hiko was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, when she opened it.

"Do I have to go back to my room now?" she asked, pouting a little. She was hungry and sick of being in the dark already. He shook his head,

"No. Tatara wants to see you to explain what exactly your role is here." he told her. Emily's stomach grumbled,

"Will there be food involved?" she asked. Hiko coughed a chuckle, almost as if he didn't want to laugh but had no choice,

"I believe so." he replied. He was quiet the rest of the way until they were back in the large open room where Emily first saw Ayato again. Hiko stood in front of her and looked down,

"Listen, there's something I have to tell you before you go see him. Tatara has no conscience and doesn't hesitate when it comes to killing something. Be poliet and speak only when told to, otherwise just shut up and sit there." he said. Emily frowned, that last part sounded like something Ayato would have said but she nodded, understanding what he was telling her. A table had been placed up on the stage area and two chairs were placed either side of it. On side side was a covered plate. In the middle of the table sat a steaming pot of coffee and two mugs. Emily swallowed - sweet, sweet coffee. She'd just sat down when the doors in the back opened and a man with short white hair, piercing crimson eyes and a long white coat walked in.

"Good morning, Miss Ishihara." he greeted her, "Coffee?"

"Morning." she replied meekly, "Yes, please." He sat, flipped over the two mugs and began pouring. When he was done, he slid one mug over to her and gestured to the plate in front of her,

"Please. You have to keep your strength." he told her. Emily lifted the cloche and placed it out of the way to the side. Her mouth watered as she gazed down at the golden pancakes, crispy bacon and scrambled eggs. There was also a little bowl of fresh fruit cut into cubes in the middle of the plate. How did they know this was her favourite food?

"I was quite surprised when your friends came to me about what food to purchase for you. I wasn't aware you had friends within Aogiri." Tatara said behind steepled fingers. Emily wanted to reply with; I didn't know I had friends here either. But instead she said,

"I'm very grateful to them, and to you for allowing me this privilege."

Tatara arched an eyebrow seemingly impressed and amused by the way she spoke to him, "I see they've cautioned you about me too. Well, I suppose that's good. Eat."

She did as she was told and dug right into the bacon. It was perfectly crispy, in fact the whole meal was perfect and she had cleaned the plate in a matter of minutes.

"Now that's out of the way." Tatara said taking her plate away, he'd been silent the whole time she'd been eating, just watching her closely, "We can talk business."

"The reason I brought you here is you have in your possession something very powerful and extremely useful to us."

Emily frowned and watched him as he sipped his coffee, waiting for him to elaborate on this thing was that she had.

"I'm talking about the keepsake your father left you - Blue Lotus." he clarified. Emily almost dropped her mug in astonishment. They wanted Blue Lotus? Why?

"I can see you're wondering what Aogiri's purpose is for a place that seeks to help Ghouls regardless of their affiliation. Allow me to explain; Aogiri has no interest in a hospital and halfway house. What we require is a base of operations within the enemies territory. Taking over the 20th Ward is significantly more difficult than the 11th was and for one single reason - Anteiku. We've let them be for the time being, however we've found ourselves with a need to move on the 20th and we need a strong foothold. Blue Lotus will provide that for us."

The entire time she'd been in Tatara's presence she had decided to be polite and treat him with respect. But he had threatened the thing she treasured most in the world, the one thing her parents left her to take care of, the one thing she would give her life to protect. Aogiri weren't threatening her house or the building she lived in - that wasn't Blue Lotus. They were threatening her father's legacy, his dream. She wouldn't stand for it.

Taking a breath, she placed her mug on the table and looked Tatara in the eyes, defiant and strong. He wouldn't kill her, without her there would be no Blue Lotus so she felt confident in opposing him. "You're asking me to break the promise I made to my parents, to forget everything they gave their lives for? Don't be ridiculous."

Tatara's gaze hardened as he regarded her silently. She wasn't sure whether he was amused or annoyed. Did she underestimate her potential to Aogiri and signed her own death warrant? One last foolish streak of rebellion took hold of Emily and she decided that she was going to be the one to control her fate. "The way I see it," she continued, "You can't kill me, especially if you still plan on trying to use me in whatever it is you're trying to do against the CCG. So you have no choice but to let me go."

Tatara stayed silent but his harsh glare spoke volumes. He was pissed. If she had picked up on anything that Hiko had told her before she met with him, it was not to piss off Tatara. _He doesn't hesitate when it comes to killing people..._ Well, shit.

The sound of wood scraping against wood echoed in the empty room as he stood, glowering down at Emily. She gulped; he may not be able to kill her but he sure as hell could put her through all kinds of pain.

"Follow me." he ordered her and retreated back out of the door he'd entered from. Emily did as she was instructed and followed the tall, mysterious Ghoul as he walked down several flights of stairs, turned down the maze-like hallways and then finally came to a stop in front of a makeshift prison. Emily paled when she saw all the people cramped inside the space smaller than her room.

"You're right," Tatara said clasping his hands behind his back, "I can't kill you"

A light flickered on overhead, dirty faces squinted up at the sudden brightness and looked around disorientated and lost. Emily gasped and moved to the bars when she saw a face familiar to her.

"Akihiro!" she cried catching his attention. He was sitting at the back, his cheeks starting to hollow from lack of nourishment. He strained to see who was calling his name but the angle of the light blinded him to her face.

"If you don't agree to aid us," Tatara said, the tone of his voice sent chills down her spine, "We will kill these men, your co-workers at that little bookshop, your best friend, your boyfriend and everyone else you love."


End file.
